Rise
by Tyomcha
Summary: It's over. Frisk messed up, and now Chara is in control. The Underground is in a hopeless loop of genocide, monsters being killed and revived just to be killed again. But then something changes. A new monster appears, one Chara has never seen. Chara is forced to do something they'd never even thought about... Yet when they do, they find that maybe pacifism isn't so bad after all.
1. Prologue

**AN:** This story was originally written on AO3, and is already complete there. I will port it to at a rate of 1 chapter every day. The story will _not_ be edited from how it appears on AO3 except to fix the most blatant and easily fixable of mistakes (e.g. spelling errors), so if you give me advice in the reviews, then... well, thank you very much and I'll keep it in mind for my other projects, but don't expect to actually see it be followed in this story.

An AN section at the beginning of each chapter will be used to respond to reviews from the previous chapter. I'll do my best to respond to all reviews left on the story.

Most of the actual author notes from the AO3 version of this story won't be ported to this version, since a lot of them were really just written because, well, AO3 has a specific space for author's notes, so why not? Since doesn't have that, most (or, honestly, probably _all_ ) author notes won't be ported.

Oh, and by the way... I know this isn't very reassuring, but the story gets better as it goes on. So if you like the concept but just don't like the writing, I'd suggest you stick around, at least for a little while. (Because honestly, I'm pretty sure some of the stuff near the beginning was REALLY bad.)

* * *

A monster stood in the garbage dump.

At first glance, he might be described as a humanoid bird. His round head was covered in yellow feathers, and they continued growing down his neck before vanishing into the robe hanging from his shoulders – a sleeveless one, and one that was beige and hung all the way to his knees. On his face were two large, circular eyes above a beak twisted into a facsimile of a frown. His limbs, on the other hand, were featherless, and thin and spindly. To a human observer, they'd look like the feet of an eagle, only extended.

Of course, there were no observers here, human or otherwise. That was the reason he'd come down here. Almost no one ever came down here, and that worked well for his purposes.

Less pleasant for the monster was the fact that, as he stood there, he realized, very quickly, why it was that no one came down here. The stink was horrendous, and the piles of garbage all around were hardly something one would want to look at, either. He caught sight of one of the piles and, with a flash of disgust, saw a group of flies picking away at a horrifically rotten chunk of… something. Bile rose in his throat, and though he immediately turned away, the noise of their buzzing still seemed to haunt him.

Ever since he realized that the most secluded place in the entire Underground that he could access was a garbage dump, he'd hated that fact. Now that he actually stood there, he hated it even more. The correct decision was clear – get on with it, if only so that he could leave.

His hand shot out in front of him, and a faint pulse of magic appeared in front of it. It was hardly an unusual sight – or at least, that was what it seemed like if no one looked too closely. If someone did, they'd see something rather odd. They would see that the pulse of magic he was holding out now did not come from his own power.

No, it came from someone else. That was unusual – a monster couldn't use someone else's magic. But that was fine – what he was about to do was no normal magic. It was something that had never been done before. In fact, as far as he could tell, there was never an opportunity to do something like this before.

The first time he thought of it, the idea of doing something no one had even attempted before seemed intimidating. After further consideration, though, he'd realized that, in theory, at least, it would actually be rather simple. He was no scientist, of course, but the logic seemed sound enough to him.

During his time in the Underground, there were a few times he'd felt an odd sensation, almost as if something had brushed up against him. At first, he'd been ready to dismiss it as something in the air. That's what he would've done, if not for the fact that every time it happened, he'd noticed a faint trace of magic around him. For any ordinary monster, it would be far too little to spot, but… he wasn't exactly an ordinary monster. Or at least, he wasn't working with the same tools available to one.

And so, he could spot this trace of magic, but he did more than that. He captured it, he trapped it, and he inspected it. And when he did, he found something very intriguing – because this seemed like it came from a soul. Not a complete soul, though – more like as if a soul somehow broke down into millions of tiny pieces, and one of them had brushed up against him.

That possibility seemed so unlikely, though, that for a while he'd outright rejected it. After all, any monster soul that broke apart would have vanished instantly, and even if a human soul somehow got here, it wouldn't have left a trace of magic.

Yet every time this happened, he'd looked at the trace of magic, and every time, he'd come to the same conclusion. Eventually, he'd had no choice but to accept it – and when he did, he realized it presented a very intriguing possibility for him. After all, he reasoned, monster souls are made mostly of magic, right? So, in theory, one that was broken like that could simply be mended by using more magic – even if the magic came from a different monster – to fill whatever cracks caused it to break apart in the first place.

It seemed to him to be sound logic, but there were two major roadblocks he could see. The first was that repairing a soul scattered into this many pieces would require a staggering amount of magic, but if anyone could have that much, it would be him. The second could not be solved so easily, and it was that he'd have to figure out a way to get all the pieces into one place if he wanted to repair the soul.

Here, he didn't have any ideas that would guarantee success, but he did have one that could give him a chance. With how many shards of the soul must have been flying around, at least a few should, in theory, be at any given location at any given time. That meant that he could at least start assembling the soul. When he did, he hoped that the rest of the pieces would spot the beginnings of the soul, and be naturally attracted to it. He wasn't certain that was how it would work, but it seemed plausible.

Still, even with that, his nerves were up in arms. Of course, there was nothing that could go too horribly wrong. Even if he failed, there'd be no real consequences… so why did he feel so nervous? Why was it so hard to just do it?!

But regardless of how hard it was, he sure as hell wouldn't back down now. Not because of perseverance, though – out of stubbornness. Backing away here would mean admitting that he'd let himself be defeated by something as stupid as being worried. Even if the only person he was admitting that to was himself, he still couldn't do it.

Even then, he hesitated for a few more moments. Finally, though, fueled by pride and the unwillingness to let that pride be hurt, he began his work.

He'd taken the trace of magic here to act as an example of what to look for, in hopes that it would make the search for the shards of the soul easier. Of course, he wasn't looking with his eyes – with how many pieces this soul must've been broken into, each one would be invisible. Instead, he inspected the area with magic, and try to use it to feel where the soul shards were. Even with the trace as a sample, though, it was still hard. Several times, he seemed tantalizingly close to finding one, only for it to slip away. Once or twice, he'd even managed to spot a shard, but lost it again before he could use his magic on it.

Finally, after a very frustrating few minutes, he'd managed to keep track of one long enough to pour some magic into it. That kept it in place while he found the next one, a process which took almost as long. When he finally had 2 shards, he carefully put them together and, with a flash of magical light, fused them into one.

The process had taken less magic than he'd expected. More than that, though, it seemed his wild guess was correct. With 2 shards fused together, he could feel the other pieces of the soul in the air slowly creeping towards them. As they reached the fusion, he added them in too, and each time he did, the others accelerated a bit.

For a second or two more, everything was fine.

And then, panic shot through the monster's mind.

At first, he'd been able to keep up with the shards fairly easily. Now, however, they were flying in so fast that fusing them all together was taking a noticeable effort. More than that, the growing soul was still tiny – there would be far, far more shards to graft onto it.

Even worse, this was now at a point where he couldn't just stop it. If he stopped fusing the pieces onto the soul now, they'd still be attracted to it, but instead of attaching to it, they'd just smash into it at full force. With the soul not being stable yet, if it was hit by that many little shards flying that fast, it would most likely explode – something that wouldn't be pleasant for a monster standing so close to it.

No, the only choice he had was to keep the magic pouring in. But he was a monster, and he was made largely of magic himself. If he expended too much of it, he would die.

The shards were flying faster and faster and faster, and still the bird monster stood there, flinging more and more of his magic into that blinding light. Exhaustion and agony ravaged his body simultaneously – exhaustion from losing so much of his magic, and agony because the sheer amount of magic he was projecting through his body right now was nearly tearing it apart.

Still, he held out for a while. Eventually, though, his knees buckled under him, and a moment later, the stream of magic flowing out of him began slowly losing its intensity. Desperately, he held on, pushing himself to the very limits. The original reason he'd decided to do this was forgotten. Now, only one thought ran through his mind – DON'T. DIE.

And then, there it was. A monster soul, right in front of him. For a moment, the bird stared, almost in disbelief. Then, he collapsed onto the muddy ground, losing consciousness in an instant.

A body started taking shape around the soul. Black shoes, black trousers, a white dress shirt, a red tie, a black jacket. Bony, skeletal hands, a circular hole in each one, and a round head similarly made of bone, a crack running from each of the eye sockets – one up, one down.

The monster examined his hands carefully, moved his fingers a bit. Finally, he stared down at the bird's unconscious form.

"H… how did you…"


	2. Shattered Bones

**AN:** No reviews? Well then, no AN, I guess. :P

* * *

Once again.

Once again, I walked forward through the golden hallway. I wasn't sure how many times I've done this before – I'd lost track a long, long time ago. The first time, I admit I was nervous. It didn't make much sense for me to be – after all, I could always just try again if I died. But there was still this undeniable feeling of dread – an irrational fear of what was about to happen.

That was then. Now, this hallway held no terrors for me. There was just my last victim.

As I approached the figure standing in the shadow, a very familiar voice said something very familiar.

"…that expression you're wearing… you're really kind of a freak, huh? … ready?"

I leapt into the air as bones rose up from the floor below me and easily weaved through the wave he sent afterwards. Then, as he summoned his blasters, I simply moved into their blind spot, and did it again, and again, and again.

"here we go."

There was a time when I found that first attack incredibly challenging to dodge. A time when I'd almost never get past it without being hit with the full force of one of his bones or being burned by the lasers his odd skulls fired.

Now, though, it was trivial.

I ran up to the one standing in front of me and slashed with my knife. He dodged out of the way, as I knew he would.

"what? you think i'm just gonna stand there and take it?"

I didn't, and he knew I didn't. He was merely mocking me. The first few times I'd heard him do that, I'd snapped at him, shouting about how he of all people should know I'd know what he'd do. Afterwards, it still annoyed me for a while, but I'd learned by then that saying anything would just be wasting my breath. Now, I didn't care one way or the other. It was just more white noise to me.

From then on it was all the same as usual. Every time the skeleton began an attack, I knew exactly what to do to avoid it from the moment I saw it. Every time he said something, it was always the same thing he always said – and every time he attacked, I would always emerge unscathed.

After a while of him dodging over and over, he stood in front of me, sweat on his forehead, and began his long-winded speech where he asked me to stop fighting. He said we could've been friends in another timeline… rubbish. Perhaps that weak, pathetic child who fell down here once considered this monster a "friend", in some timeline…

But that child was no longer here. It was just me, Chara.

I slashed again, and again, the skeleton dodged.

Of course, I knew what happened next.

By now, I was able to avoid almost everything he could do to me. Even after so many resets, that was one thing that still felt amazing. With how much trouble he gave me the first few times he fought, I suspected I'd never get tired of making a fool of him.

And yet almost everything isn't the same as everything. I braced myself, preparing for one of the few things that still got me every so often.

For a moment, reality itself seemed to blink out of existence. Then everything came back… Only now, there was a large wave of bones heading my way. I jumped as high into the air as I could, barely avoiding the attack. As I fell down, the tall bones gave way to much shorter ones – and just before I landed on them, reality disappeared again. When it reappeared, a completely different attack was heading my way. Even after all this time, I still found it disorienting.

But after all these resets, I could dodge even this. Even as he attacked over and over – sometimes with the reality-shifting, sometimes with those odd blasters of his – he never hit me once.

Just one thing left, now. His desperate last stand.

It was far, far from the first time I'd experienced it. Yet even so, it was dangerous. Very dangerous…

The flurry of attacks came as soon as his speech ended. Dodging the first few was relatively easy, but that didn't last long. As they progressed, avoiding them became harder and harder. I felt my heart pumping in my chest, adrenaline rushing through my veins as I barely evaded a group of bones. With how often I'd done this, I knew the correct course of action to dodge all of this instinctively, but that didn't make it easy to actually do…

As the rapid-fire attacks moved into their final stage – the circling blasters – I felt a rush of adrenaline and excitement as I realized he hadn't even scratched me so far. For a while, it had been my goal to beat this bastard flawlessly. Now, that goal was finally within my reach!

Don't get overconfident, though. That was the fastest way to get myself hit. Still, it was hard to remember that as I ran ahead of the lasers, silently praying they'd stop soon…

And then they did.

I'd done it. For the first time, I'd fought him and I'd won without a single mark on me.

I began laughing. The skeleton's telekinesis picked me up and slammed me, repeatedly, against the walls – for some reason, I always forgot he did that at the end. Still, it didn't matter. It could hardly be considered an attack, anyway.

As my body smashed into the marble walls over and over again, I felt pain. Not in the same way I did the first few times this happened, though. Back then, it was unbearable. Every wave of his hand, every slamming sound was punctuated by a scream as agony filled me. Yet now, though I still felt the pain, I was used to it by now. Now, it hardly even bothered me. It almost felt distant, in a way – like it was something I knew existed and was happening, but didn't affect me.

So I just kept laughing, both to mock him for his failure and out of genuine joy for my accomplishment.

Finally, he tired out and stopped, dropping me on the ground. Then, he used what he called his "special attack".

This was nothing new to me by now, but it was rather boring. While I waited for him to fall asleep, I set my knife on the floor and sat down, contemplating my next action.

My main goal was now complete. What would I do next? Nothing came to mind, not immediately. The fish was the only other real challenge I had, but I'd already beaten her without a scratch several times. Other than her, there was nothing that could challenge me, or that was even remotely interesting. Nothing in the Underground, at least…

With the goats' souls, I could cross the barrier. Then, I'd have all of humanity to figure out how to get past. It would be rather entertaining, I imagined. The monsters were naïve and weak; that was why only two of them even put up a decent fight. Humans, on the other hand…

Yes, I'd enjoy killing them. And not just because it'd be hard.

Looking up, I noticed that the skeleton had fallen asleep by now. I picked up my knife and walked towards him, slicing him almost as an afterthought as I passed.

Next was the throne room. The king of monsters fell easily. All it took was a single strike.

The flower didn't show up. After I did this a few times, he just stopped appearing. He was terrified, of course. I didn't really bother looking for him in my previous attempts. Defeating that comedian flawlessly was all I really cared about. If I decided I really wanted to hunt him down, I had all the time in the world to do so. Really, though, he wasn't worth the time. Although…

I remembered his pleas for mercy, remembered how good it felt to have someone beg to me. Perhaps finding him would be worthwhile after all.

That, though, was something I'd consider later. For now, I just walked on until I reached the barrier.

Just as I was about to pass through it, I heard a voice I didn't know from behind me.

"Hm. You've finally accomplished what you wanted to do," said the voice. Whatever it was spoke in a very casual – even smug – tone, almost as if it was unaware of what I'd done. "You're quite the killer, aren't you? Well, child… I've got an offer for you."

I turned around.

Standing there, looking straight at me, I saw a monster.

His appearance was that of a humanoid bird wearing a robe. More concerning than that, however, was the fact that I'd apparently missed one…

He looked directly at me and said "My name's Par, and I believe hearing me out would be in your best interest."

It didn't make sense to me. How could there still be a monster alive? I've done this time and time again – there shouldn't be any way for someone to avoid me every time. And if someone did, why would they be standing here? He knew what I'd done – there was no way he didn't. So why come to me, of his own free will?

Not that it mattered. If he saw it fit to throw away his life, I would oblige.

With a grin on my face, I pulled out my knife.

He sighed and shook his head slowly, as if he was expecting this. "I can't say I'm particularly surprised, Chara…"

I paused for a moment.

At this point in time, I supposed it wasn't COMPLETELY impossible for a monster to know who I was. After all, I'd been in control of the child's body and soul for a long, LONG time – and with that came certain changes. In particular, by now, the child's physical appearance had altered to match mine, and not just in terms of their actual appearance – even their clothing had turned into what I usually wore.

But… I'd never seen this bird before. He shouldn't have any idea what I even looked like, so how did he know?

It hardly mattered, but curiosity overcame logic. "How do you know who I am?" I asked, approaching him while meaningfully pointing my knife in his direction.

"Watch where you're pointing that," he said, glancing at the weapon in my hand. "And do you really think I'd te-"

His condescending speech was interrupted by my knife slamming into him. He grunted in pain and recoiled.

Yet he didn't turn to dust, nor did he seem like he was about to. It was like when I was fighting the fish – the blow had clearly hurt him, but, it seemed, not lethally.

In a way, I expected that. Here was a monster who had somehow avoided me in all my runs so far, and who had now intentionally sought me out. Clearly, there was something special about him. Hell, I'd be disappointed if there wasn't.

"You bastard!" he spat, stepping away from me. The calm confidence in his voice was gone, replaced by simple fury. He clutched the spot where I'd stabbed him. "You'll pay for that!"

Whatever it was he was trying to talk to me about before seemed to be completely forgotten. That suited me just fine.

A blob of something transparent and yellow appeared above his outstretched hand. So, this was his magic? Alright, then. I readied my knife and settled into a stance.

Time for one last fight.


	3. Final Battle?

Although it was a very, very long time since I ever fought anything for the first time, I still remembered the strategy. The first thing to do is to learn what the opponent is capable of. It doesn't matter if I die; I can come back as many times as I want.

So, I waited for him to take the first move. He didn't keep me waiting long. The yellow, transparent blob floating above his hand formed into a crescent shape, before a thrust of his arm sent it flying at me.

That was hardly difficult to dodge. It was too wide to sidestep, though, so I just ducked under it.

The moment I did, the monster raised his hand and slammed it into the ground, palm outstretched. A pale orange light shone from a square section of the floor, me at its center.

Immediately, I realized that meant danger. I threw myself forwards and out of the square, standing up in the same fluid motion. Now, I was right next to him.

A loud noise resounded from where I just was. I turned my head to the side and saw what looked like hundreds of yellow feathers rising up from the ground. Considering the speed they were flying upwards with, they certainly weren't any normal fea-

I felt a sharp sensation across my spine as something struck me from behind and knocked me to the ground. There was the sound of blood dripping on the ground behind me, and from what it felt like, my back had probably been torn open.

"How do YOU like being attacked while you're distracted?" the bird said. He didn't raise his voice, but it was dripping with a cold malice. "Bastard."

From the sound of his voice, it seemed like he thought I was done for.

Tough luck. I'd endured worse before.

Hoping to take him by surprise, I rolled to the side, kicking at his legs as I did. As my back touched the ground, I felt another flash of pain in the back of my mind, but after how much I'd endured in my many runs, even that didn't give me pause. My feet collided into something and I heard a "guh-!" from the bird, moments before a thud reached my ears from where I myself was just lying.

At the end of the roll, I tried to stand up, but as I did, I saw the monster make a hand gesture, glaring at me with a hateful look. That certainly wasn't good.

I scrambled to get up, but not fast enough. There was a loud "whoosh!" behind me as something – or many things – flew through the air, and then I felt my back being stabbed by something small over and over again. The feathers, probably, which meant that the rectangle from earlier wasn't the only way he could use them.

Fortunately, I'd managed to take the volley without falling back down. However, he did manage to get up while I was focusing on that. Quickly, so as to make sure he didn't have another chance, I finished standing up and scanned the area to find where the bird was.

When I saw him, his face was twisted into a mixture of fury and confusion. Most likely, he wasn't expecting me to still be alive. "Ghhhhhhhh…" he hissed, before flinging his arms to the sides and channeling his magic into each of his palms, walking backwards at the same time. As I expected, the blobs of magic formed into crescents, but this time, they didn't immediately fly at me. Rather, they just floated by his side as two more blobs formed into crescents in his hands, and two more…

He was walking slower than I could run, but getting closer right now would put me at risk. Instead, I stood in place and waited to see what he would do.

After a few moments, he stopped. By that point, though, there was already a lot of crescents flying around him. I waited for a second or two, thinking he would send them at me.

However, he didn't. He must've been planning to wait until I approached, then attack when I had no chance to dodge.

At the same time, though, he hardly struck me as the patient type. If I just waited around for a while, I'd bet I could bait him into attacking early.

But while I could do that, there was another option too. With a swing of my hand, I flung my knife at him.

A single crescent detached from the mass surrounding him and cut the knife in half.

For a moment, I stared blankly at the two halves lying on the floor. How did I manage to not realize he could do that…? This is what happens when you get too caught up in your own cleverness…

I looked up and met the bird's eyes. There was a smirk on his face.

It wasn't like I expected to beat him the first time anyway.

With my fist wound up for a punch, I sprinted towards him. Yeah, I was running right into his trap, but I was done for anyway. Might as well go out with style.

When I was close, I leapt at him, launching my fist forward. At that instant, the crescents flew towards me from all directions. For a brief moment, pain assaulted my entire body, enough that it genuinely hurt despite how used I was to it.

And then everything went dark.

Ah well. I loaded my save point. Fortunately, I'd saved after killing the skeleton, just in case.

This time, I didn't have to wait for him to appear behind me again. When I arrived, he was already standing there, leaning against the wall. His head was lolling slightly to the side and his eyes were nearly closed, but the moment he noticed me, he instantly snapped to attention.

That meant he could remember past timelines. I should've been surprised, but with how many things about him were special, I'd been sort of expecting that.

"Hello again," he said in a cocky voice. It seemed he'd calmed down since last time. "It seems we got off on the wrong foot last time, yes?" Never mind. Now that I'd heard his voice a bit more, it was clear he was just forcing himself to remain calm. He wasn't very good at it.

I placed a hand on my knife. Hopefully, that'd hurry things up.

"Now listen here, kid," he continued, letting a bit more contempt seep through into his voice. Whether that was intentional or not, I couldn't tell. "You can't beat me, so just-"

"Really now?" I interrupted, quickly drawing my knife. If he was going to brag, he'd best be ready to prove himself.

An annoyed sigh escaped his mouth before he shot a crescent at me. Just like at the start of my first try, I ducked under it.

The realization that remembering past timelines meant he could change up his attacks came entirely too late.

By the time I realized that, the crescent – which he had aimed lower this time – was heading right for my chest. Desperately, I tried to dive to the ground, but it was already too late. His magic struck me as I moved, sending me flying to the side.

For a moment, I didn't realize why the pain was so much worse than it seemed like it should've been. In my many runs, I'd been impaled by the skeleton's bones over and over again, and by now the feeling of something like that was nothing but an awareness somewhere in the back of my mind. So why did this genuinely sting…?

I wondered that until, still lying down, I glanced over to the other side of the room and saw something. The moment I noticed it, my gaze shifted downwards.

Yep. My body ended in a smooth diagonal cut where the crescent had gone straight through me, and that was my other half over on the other end of the room. A weak "oh" was all I could muster, more because of surprise than pain.

Everything was starting to go dark as I bled to death. If I wanted to, I could probably hold it off for a bit, but there wouldn't really be a point. Best to just die here and try not to get chopped in half next time.

Alright.

Next time, the moment I appeared, he shouted "Just hear me out here!" By the time he'd finished that sentence, though, I was already almost next to him with my knife drawn. Before I sliced, though, he leapt upwards, creating a mass of yellow feathers around him at the same time. The feathers formed into a pair of wings – the oddity of the fact that he normally lacked wings despite being a humanoid bird only struck me now – which he used to fly somewhere over my head.

Most likely, he'd gone right behind me, and was now about to try to surprise me. Therefore, I jumped to the side.

My guess was right, as I saw a crescent sail right past me. With my theory confirmed, I whirled around and thrust my knife at where I thought he'd be.

Again, right on. The attack got him before he could react to it, and the knife sunk into his side. I noticed his wings had disappeared – it seemed they only existed briefly when he needed them.

He growled in a mixture of pain and rage, before flinging his arms to the sides and creating a crescent in each one. Seeing what he was doing, I tore the knife out of him and jumped away just as he slashed in front of him with both crescents at once.

Next, I expected him to throw the crescents at me, but instead they just vanished. The monster shot his hand in front of him and yellow feathers started appearing in front of him and flying forwards. There were far too many to try to dodge them individually, so instead I leapt out of the way of the entire stream.

I heard a massive thudding noise from somewhere behind me. Out of curiosity, I took a moment to glance backwards and saw the cause of the sound – the feathers slamming into the wall and getting stuck in it.

Then, when all the feathers were firmly lodged in the wall, they began flying back out of it. I followed them with my eyes and saw that they were flying back towards the bird monster and surrounding him in something like a tornado of feathers.

That wasn't as much of an issue for me as he probably though it was. Yeah, my hand would get cut up horribly when I tried to attack him, but I could take it.

He made no move to attack again. Instead, he just spread his arms in a shrug and said "Well, you're out of ways to attack me. Are we going to talk now or-"

"Shut up about that," I shot back as I ran at him. For a moment, he looked at me with disbelief on his face, before his expression shifted to a smirk. Clearly, he was looking forward to seeing his shield in effect.

Time to disappoint him.

Ignoring the whirling feathers between me and my target, I slashed at him. His tornado was more effective than I thought, though. Oh, I could certainly take the pain; the issue was that the feathers were slamming into my arm with enough force to knock it off target. What I intended to be a cut to the head ended up just barely grazing his shoulder.

He grimaced for a moment, before jabbing a finger – or maybe it would be better described as a talon – at me. All the feathers in the hurricane stopped spinning and flew straight at me, some of them even phasing right through their master in the process.

I launched myself to the side, but I had no illusions. An unexpected attack at such a close range while I was recovering from a swing was something I couldn't dodge. Still, I did better than might be expected. Comparatively few feathers actually hit me dead on, and I'd dodged a good amount of them entirely. That said, a lot of them had grazed me, and even if that wasn't as severe as a direct hit, it wasn't negligible.

It wouldn't be a complete victory for him, though. Seizing the opportunity, I swung my knife at him again. As I thought, he didn't expect that, and the knife buried itself in his body.

This time, he actually screamed when the attack hit him. "FINE! ENOUGH!" he yelled, forming another pair of wings and leaping backwards. On the way, he flapped his wings once, bouncing off the air and sending him away from me even faster.

"I'm afraid not," I smirked, although the bird didn't seem worried so much as angry. He raised one hand and snapped his fingers.

I started running towards him, but a mechanical sound from the ground underneath me made me stop. Seven circular objects began emerging – four to my left, three to my right. As they slowly moved upwards from wherever they were stored, what they were became clear to me. Glass tubes…

Glass tubes with human souls inside six of them.

My smirk was wiped off my face in an instant and my eyes went wide as I realized what he was planning. If he got the souls, he'd gain control over the timeline.

The thought of that was almost too terrifying to consider. No. No, I couldn't let that happen! I was the one who was supposed to be in control!

Frantically, my mind reached for the determination deep within my soul. My panic was making it hard to concentrate, but it was there. I just had to focus on it…

A fresh wave of fear shot through me as he fired six feathers, one at each tube with a soul inside.

No more time to waste. Got to do it, NOW! I'm not going to let some dumb bird ruin me!

And with that last thought, I pressed the reset button. Just in time.


	4. From The Beginning

**AN:**

 **offbrandbiscuit** : Thank you very much! I'm still not going to edit anything, so I'm sorry, but I'm not actually going to change that line, but thank you for pointing it out anyway. It'll be something to keep in mind for my later stuff.  
Glad you're interested in the story, and I hope I live up to your expectations!

* * *

The wind rushed towards me, battering at my face, moments before I fell onto the golden flowers. It was far from the first time, but though normally I'd get up immediately, this time I just lay on the flowers. After being under that much stress, it was nice to relax for a moment.

Though I'd only intended to rest for a few seconds, I found myself not wanting to get up. Ah well. It wasn't like I was in a hurry…

After a while, I sluggishly stood up and walked onwards through the hallway in front of me. All too familiar. Considering what I'd just went through, seeing all the same things as usual was oddly comforting.

Except for the fact that when I rounded the corner, the bird was standing there.

Instinctively, I grabbed my knife and raised it in front of me in a defensive position. Only, I didn't have a knife yet, and I was holding up a stick instead.

It wasn't exactly the most threatening gesture.

"How'd you get here?" I asked him cautiously. If he could just get to wherever he wanted, if he could teleport… that was bad. That was very, very bad…

"With help," he smirked, casting a glance to the side. Somehow, I doubted pushing the issue further would yield any results. Besides, I didn't want to be around him any longer than necessary.

He hesitated for a few moments too, seemingly expecting me to ask some more questions. I didn't, though, and he continued on. "And as for why I'm here, I just wanted to tell you something."

Again, he paused, seemingly expecting some sort of outburst. Again, though, I denied him one. "So, uh, the thing I want to say is…" he said in an awkward voice, struggling to make a transition.

There was yet another pause, though shorter this time, and then he spoke again. His voice seemed different now, though. It sounded like he was trying to sound confident, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"I bet you're pretty proud you managed to stop me from getting the souls. Well, here's the thing…" As he spoke, his fake confidence seemed to gradually give way to something more real. "You stopped me once, sure. And what now?"

The tone clearly implied the question was rhetorical, which was then confirmed by the fact that he didn't even slow down. "Oh, I guess with the king there, it'll be harder for me to get them. But I don't need to get rid of him, do I?"

He leaned forward and shook his head, and his beak slowly formed into a wide smile, as if he was waiting to say this. "No, no, no. You'll do it for me. After all, it's the only thing you can do, right? Just kill and kill, and that means killing the king too." His expression relaxed and he stood upright again. "Go on. Do your thing. I'll be waiting."

Then, he walked past me, rounding the same corner I'd just rounded. Where did he think he was going…? It was a dead end over there…

I tried to follow him, but though he'd already disappeared from sight, a wall of feathers appeared to block my way. A mystery for another time, then.

Turning back, I started to wonder about something else. Why'd he tell me his plan? Was he just that stupid?

Unfortunately, I supposed he was right. Doing what I'd done previously would just end in his victory again. But I didn't have to do what I'd done previously.

After all, I'd already killed the skeleton without a scratch on me. That meant I needed something else to do, one way or another. True, the battle with the skeleton – or with the fish, for that matter – never quite lost its luster, but the rest of the run had gotten more and more tedious every time. Fortunately, though, there was still one thing I hadn't done…

Technically, I'd been present in the child's soul since the beginning, watching. I hadn't been paying too much attention to the child's first few runs – it annoyed me how they refused to fight, how they tried to befriend everyone they'd met. At the very least, it was silly, if not outright naïve. The monsters were trying to kill them, so why should they get anything different?

I only truly became interested when they started killing. That was when I started watching, and when they were weakened by things like "regret" and "sadness", I took control.

But while I might not have been paying much attention to the kid's first runs, I did see enough to realize that as naïve as the human might have been, the monsters were even more so. That was something I could use.

All I needed to do was pretend to be a kind little child. I'd pretend to befriend them just long enough to deal with the feathery issue at hand. Then, I'd savor the look on their faces as I slaughtered them all.

Sure, it wouldn't be enjoyable until the very end, but at least it'd be something new. Besides, it would all be worth when I revealed the trick, and I needed to beat that bird one way or another.

I walked onwards until I reached the room with the patch of grass. This was where the flower used to appear. He didn't, not anymore. I'd taught him his lesson.

There, I realized I had a bit of an issue, considering who I was about to encounter. As I noted previously, the child's physical appearance had changed to match mine, and that just wouldn't do if deception was the objective, now would it? At least, not when dealing with the one who spent a lot of time with me back when I was alive…

I released just a bit of my hold over the soul, allowing the body's appearance to shift back to its normal form. It might seem like that would be a stupid idea, but at this point, after being under my control for so long, the child's soul was drained of any sort of determination or willpower. Even if I were to just leave their body right now, their soul wouldn't be strong enough to control it. Still, even though it was a risk-free action, doing it still made me feel a bit nervous.

Fortunately, the thought had come to me before the goat approached. When she did, she walked up to me and said "Hello… are you all right? You must be so lost and confused" blah blah blah. I didn't really listen to any of it, although I pretended to. In truth, I'd always considered this goat annoying. And now I'd have to spend an entire run in her presence.

Well, at least that meant killing her would be very satisfying. It'd have to wait, though. I was tempted to do it the moment I had the chance, but… who knows? As much as it seemed unlikely, maybe someone would notice. I couldn't let that happen until the very end. After all, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

After she'd finally finished up with her spiel, I followed her deeper into the Ruins. As we continued, she solved a few puzzles for me while continuing to talk on and on. It was all things I'd already heard, and I still was not paying any attention.

Eventually, we walked into a room with a training dummy. She said "As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple." For me, it sure was. Not in the way she was probably thinking, though. "When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict."

I didn't ask the obvious question – and what if you're not there?

"Practice talking to the dummy," she said.

Oh, yes. This. Yeah, I knew what I was getting into, but… talking to a dummy?! That was just ridiculous!

No choice, though. I walked up to the dummy and said "…Hello?", and immediately felt like an idiot.

Immediately, the goat said "Ah, very good! You are very good."

For a moment, I just stood there, struggling to process what I'd just heard. I've seen some stupid monsters before, but… really?! Saying one word was all it took to impress her?! Maybe keeping this façade up wouldn't be as much work as I thought.

I noticed that she'd already started moving to the next room and scrambled to follow her. It'd look weird if I didn't.

Then, we proceeded onwards together. From that point on, for quite a while, nothing of note happened. Eventually, she left me alone, gave me a cell phone, and told me to stay where I was. Of course, I didn't. Instead, I just proceeded through the Ruins, periodically receiving calls from her as I did. She never really said anything important, though, or even anything I hadn't heard before (although, the call where she talked about having déjà vu in regard to me was always amusing, no matter how many times I heard it).

All in all, everything was rather uneventful for a while. It was quite boring, and I found myself wishing for something – anything – exciting to happen. Then I remembered the last truly exciting thing that had happened to me and decided this was probably better.

Still, I had to admit, this wasn't as bad as I thought. Of course, I couldn't say I liked having to try and appease the monsters literally trying to kill me, but it was all a matter of perception. When I started looking at it like a puzzle, as something to solve, it became a lot more bearable. After all, it WAS a puzzle – each monster wanted something different, and it was all a matter of figuring out what it was.

Maybe that was just a way to try and ignore what I was actually doing, but I was stuck with this for a whole run. Any way to make it more bearable was good.

After a while, I noticed a ghost lying on the floor and saying "z" out loud repeatedly. It didn't seem to have any interest in stopping me, but unfortunately, it was blocking my way. For a moment, I debated what to do before deciding to try just stepping over it.

Unfortunately, I'd overestimated how high I could raise my foot, and ended up softly kicking it instead. When I did, it dropped its pretense of being asleep and floated into the air. Dodging its attacks wasn't an issue; I'd fought this ghost many times already. As for getting past it, that might be a bit more complicated.

If I'd figured anything out so far, just asking it if I could pass wouldn't work. Instead, I looked towards the ghost and forced a smile, intending to try giving it a compliment. With how much time I'd had to spend tricking the goats into thinking I was an innocent kid, I was pretty good at faking cheerfulness. Of course, I hadn't had cause to practice that in a while, so I might've gotten rusty.

Even if I had, though, there was no harm in trying. "Hey, that's some nice magic!" I told it, despite the fact that I'd just spent the last few seconds effortlessly dodging said magic.

The ghost chuckled slightly, which I took to be a good sign. So, after dodging another round of its attacks, I offered it another compliment.

It chuckled again and, after a moment of hesitation, asked "can I show you something?"

"Sure," I said, never letting the cheer fade from my voice. In fact, I probably overdid it – I was now sounding so overly cheerful anyone with a lick of suspicion would think it was fake.

Fortunately, the ghost didn't seem to have a lick of suspicion. "let me try…" It began crying upwards – somehow – and its tears coalesced into a top hat. "I call it "dapper blook"… do you like it…"

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit, both at the hat itself and at the title. "Yes," I said, not entirely lying.

"oh gee… i usually come to the RUINS because there's nobody around… but today i met somebody nice…" the ghost said, then paused for a while. "…oh, i'm rambling again. i'll get out of your way," it finally finished, before fading away.

With that, I moved onward. The encounter with the ghost was followed by some more unimportant rooms, though I did grab a faded ribbon and a toy knife. They were always here, and from my many previous runs, I knew the faded ribbon offered some protection and the toy knife wasn't useless as a weapon. How? No idea.

Finally, I reached a room with a single tree. Well, at least that meant the end of the puzzles and the monsters. And soon enough, I could leave this place and move on to…

My heart jumped in my chest. Snowdin. How in the world could I fool the comedian?

Irrelevant for now. The goat approached me and gave another long speech, eventually inviting me into her home. Once we were inside, she said that she had a surprise for me. Of course, I already knew exactly what it was, but I still followed her to the right.

"This is it…" she said, taking me by the hand and dragging me along with her. "A room of your own. I hope you like it!" She gave me a pat on the head. Then, she sniffed the air carefully and her eyes went wide. "Is something burning…? Um, make yourself at home!" she said and sprinted away. I took a moment to fix my hair once she left, then walked into the provided room. It was… my room. From so, so long ago.

Not that it mattered anymore, of course. Still, I can't say I didn't feel any nostalgia for it.

I got in the bed and went to sleep. Not because I was tired or anything, I just knew there'd be some butterscotch pie there when I woke up, and that would heal me completely when I ate it. Monster food in general was quite a nice thing to keep around – all of it was imbued with at least some magic, and that meant that it could heal wounds. Of course, a single bite wouldn't heal anything major, but eat enough of something powerful, and there'd be no trace that anything was ever wrong.

When I woke up, it was, indeed, there. I pocketed it, then left the room and walked over to where the goat was. She said "Up already, I see? Um, I want you to" yeah, yeah, yeah, blah blah blah. I filtered out her little speech – she seemed to really like the sound of her own voice – and when she was done talking, I put on my best "sweet little kid" voice – it was admittedly a bit TOO sweet, but this woman wasn't the type who would suspect anything – and asked her about going home. Not that I really cared about going home. In fact, I didn't even remember where my home on the surface was. It was just what seemed to get a reaction out of her.

She replied "What? This… this IS your home now." For a moment, she paused (for once!), before awkwardly glancing at her book and saying "Um… would you like to hear about this book I am reading? It is called "72 Uses for Snails." How about it?"

"But I want to leave the Ruins," I said in the saddest voice I could muster. Faking emotion was another thing I'd learned back while I was with the goats, but I was never that good at it. Combined with the fact that I was deeply out of practice, my sad voice sounded incredibly unnatural. I just hoped she wouldn't question it.

"…I have to do something. Stay here," she said and ran off. Of course, I followed her.

When I caught up with her downstairs, she made yet another little speech, this time about how she was going to destroy the exit from this place. Of course, when she went to actually do so, I continued following her. She repeatedly tried to dissuade me along the way. It didn't work, especially considering I'd already heard all she had to say time and time again.

Eventually, I found her standing in front of the door. She said angrily "You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others." For just a moment, she paused, and when she spoke again, it sounded like she was forcing herself to say the words. "There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself… Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!"

She looked me in the eyes, and when she did, something in her expression changed. "…wait. …why are you looking at me like that? Like you have seen a ghost. Do you know something that I do not? No… that is impossible."

I'd never had to genuinely fight her before; it was always over in one hit. This'd be my first time seeing her attacks. For a moment, I regretted not paying attention during the kid's runs, but I'd fought the skeleton many, many times. Whatever she threw at me, it couldn't be worse.

With a swipe of her paw, she sent orbs of fire at me. Dodging them was trivial, even when they started bouncing off the floor and the walls.

And now what? Now I had to figure out a way to get her to agree to let me past. But back when I was alive, I'd had a lot of time to learn about her, and one thing I always noticed was that she was rather stubborn. I doubted anything I could say would change her mind.

No harm in trying, though. The only question was, what to say? Right now, I doubted she'd listen to reason, so I had to hit her emotionally instead. That wouldn't be easy.

Before I could figure out how exactly I'd go about it, though, she attacked again. A sea of flames danced around me, yet with a few quick movements, I emerged unscathed.

Well, at least staying alive wouldn't be an issue. Actually winning, on the other hand, certainly would be. My mind raced, trying to come up with something I could do.

Perhaps it would be more effective to not say anything at all and instead just look at her with a pitiful expression. That would probably get the desired effect, if I could do it convincingly. I doubted I could, though.

Another attack came at me. It wasn't any more of an issue than the last two, but as I weaved past the flames, I caught a glimpse of her face. Her expression was confused and conflicted. She must've noticed I wasn't attacking.

I smirked, looking downwards to make sure she didn't see it. Perhaps that would be my ticket out. If I just refused to attack her… yes, that might work.

She attacked a few more times, all of which I dodged. Finally, she looked down at me and said "What are you doing?"

No reply was necessary. Anything I could've said wouldn't hit her as hard as silence.

Fire rained on me over and over, but it wasn't much of a concern. What I was paying more attention to was what she was saying. Now, between her attacks, she was outright telling me to fight back. Of course, I had no intention of doing so.

"Stop it," she finally said, before another attack flew at me. This one was different, though. It was slow even compared to the others. Good. That meant I was getting to her.

"Stop looking at me that way," she said, in a voice so pitiful I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her. "Go away!"

Then there was silence again, but it was a different sort of silence. A kind of silence that told me I'd already won. It was just a matter of time, now.

I only had to dodge for a bit more after that. Then, her attacks stopped targeting me altogether. Instead, they just fell around me in a halfhearted attempt to scare me away.

Of course, I wasn't going anywhere. A few moments later, she spoke again. "I know you want to go home, but… but please…" she stammered. Her voice sounded like she was trying to hold back tears. "Go upstairs now. I promise I will take good care of you here."

I raised my gaze to look her in the eyes, but she turned away. "I know we do not have much, but… we can have a good life here," she said, slowly and awkwardly, like she was having trouble finding the right words.

"Why are you making this so difficult?" she asked. It seemed like she was just about to cry. "Please, go upstairs."

Then, she just looked down at the floor as I silently hoped she wouldn't make herself look any more pathetic than she already had. We held our positions for a moment, before she turned back to face me.

In that moment, she seemed to have regained her composure. Only the faintest trace of tears remained in her eyes, and a sad smile decorated her face. It looked oddly elegant, in a way.

Frankly, I was somewhat impressed. She wasn't quite as soft as I expected.

"…Ha ha…" she finally said. Specifically said; there was no way that could be called a laugh. "Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child."

The idea I needed saving was a bit insulting, but I wasn't about to blurt anything out right now. "…No, I understand," she said after a small pause.

Yes! I'd done it!

"You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them," she said. "It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this."

For the first time in a while, she met my eyes. "My expectations… My loneliness… My fear… For you, my child, I will put them aside." Again, a brief moment of hesitation, before she said "However, when you leave… Please do not come back. I hope you understand."

She wasn't planning to follow me everywhere? That was somewhat surprising. I was glad, though.

Her arms wrapped around me in a hug. I let it happen. "Goodbye, my child," she said, and walked away.

So, this was it. The first part of my journey, done. I couldn't say I liked it, but it wasn't as horrible as I imagined. Hopefully, it'd stay like that.

I placed my palms on the large door and shoved, feeling the familiar burst of frigid air hit my face as they ponderously opened. With a confident stride, I stepped forward.


	5. Snow and Dogs

**AN:**

 **offbrandbiscuit** : Yeah, can't exactly spoil you on what's going to happen later, can I? :P Especially as I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to...

* * *

I wasn't certain what, exactly, I'd feel when I was finally past that door, but there was one thing I thought I'd feel for sure. That was a sense of relief, relief at no longer having to deal with that goat.

But I didn't.

When I was alive, I'd never really interacted much with the monsters. For the most part, I kept to myself, never talking to anyone if I could avoid it. Even when I got pulled out to some sort of social gathering, I never really listened to what anyone had to say. I just couldn't care less about any of them.

And yet… I don't know why, but I listened to what she said just before I left. It wasn't that I cared about her – of course I didn't. But for whatever reason, I listened, and deep inside, I felt… something. And now, for whatever reason, I didn't feel all that happy about leaving.

Still, I moved on. After all, it wasn't like it mattered, whatever it was. Probably just some leftover traces of the kid's personality…

As soon as I entered Snowdin, I reasserted my dominance over the kid's soul, letting the body's appearance changed to mine. After all, no one except the goats would know what I looked like. Now that I wasn't with her anymore, looking like myself rather than the child wouldn't be an issue, and being fully in control made me feel safer.

That done, I walked onto the path and began to follow it. After a bit, though, I heard footsteps behind me.

Of course, I knew who it was. The comedian.

I bit my lip as I heard him approaching. This wouldn't be easy. He was a savvy one, and more importantly, he knew about the resets. If I slipped up once…

Well, never mind. Even if I did, I could always just reset. Still, the thought of talking to him made me more than a little nervous.

For now, though, all there was to do was to move on. So, I did, until I reached the gate. Then I heard his voice from behind me.

He said, "Human."

When he did, I turned around and, mentally bracing myself, shook his hand. As I did, a noise I refuse to describe resounded through the forest.

That was because, as always, he was holding a whoopee cushion. I sighed. Of all people, to think HE was the one who pulled these sorts of stupid tricks… and now, he was about to launch into a long speech, too. The worst part is, when it was him we were talking about, I didn't dare not listen. I really didn't need to give him any more opportunities to see through me.

"heh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick... wait a sec... have you heard it before or something? you turned around before i said to... weird." I gritted my teeth in frustration, realizing I'd messed up by doing that. Still, I suppose it was inevitable that he'd find out this wasn't my first run sooner or later. I just had to make sure he didn't know what I did in the previous ones.

I waited for him to conclude his speech – it was about how his brother wanted to catch a human – before going through the gate, him following me. Eventually, we reached a clearing, and he said "quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp," pointing to a lamp to my left. I really wasn't sure what he thought would happen – it obviously wouldn't hide me, not from where the other skeleton would be standing.

Admittedly, I have previously found myself wondering what would happen if I did. Well, I was about to find out.

Almost as soon as I walked behind the lamp, his brother walked into the clearing, and the two launched into a lengthy conversation. Somehow, it seemed the tall one really didn't see me…

Finally, he left, and the comedian told me "ok, you can come out now."

I was happy to, but there was one thing that needed answering before I moved on. "Sure," I said, "but… there's something I need to ask you."

"what?" It struck me too late that talking to him any more than necessary was probably a bad idea. Still, cutting off the conversation at this point would be even more suspicious…

"Did your brother really not see me there?!"

The comedian shrugged. "why would he?" he said, as if he genuinely had no idea. "it was a pretty conveniently shaped lamp."

"Only if you're standing at a specific spot!" I yelled, frustrated with this joker's seeming inability to understand common sense.

"well, what if he was standing at that spot? ya ever thought about that?"

"He wasn't, though!" I shouted at him.

"really? let me check," he said, and walked to the one spot where I would be perfectly obscured by the lamp. "can't see ya."

"But…" I stammered in disbelief. "That's not where he was standing!"

"it wasn't?" he said, sounding genuinely confused. "must've forgotten."

"He was here ten seconds ago!" I yelled, even as I realized how futile this was.

"well, i'm a forgetful guy."

"No, you aren't!"

"and how would you know?"

"Because I've-" I started, and then stopped myself. Was I seriously about to tell him I've met him in other timelines? That would be the stupidest thing I could possibly do. "…heard of you," I awkwardly finished.

"huh. did you want to say something else? that was a weird pause there, kiddo." He winked at me. "don't you trust me?"

"Sure," I said dismissively and moved onwards.

Just as I was leaving the clearing, he began to speak again. This time, it was about how seeing me might make his brother happy. Finally, he said "i'll be up ahead" and walked towards the Ruins. Normally, I'd be confused if someone told me they'd be somewhere and then went the exact opposite way, but I'd already learned to expect absolutely anything from the comedian.

That interruption done, I continued onwards. After a bit, I encountered the two skeletons having a conversation. As I approached, they noticed me, and after talking to each other for a bit more, the tall one turned to me. He said "…*AHEM* HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WI-"

I interrupted him with a chuckle. "You'll stop me? Go ahead. Try your best." A moment later, I realized saying something like that when I was trying to get them to trust me was probably a bad idea. Dammit. Got ahead of myself…

The skeleton looked at me with a joyful look on his face. "WOWIE! YOU FIND ME SO IMPRESSIVE THAT YOU WISH TO SAMPLE MY ABILITIES FIRSTHAND?! WHAT A NATURAL REACTION!"

"Uh…" I stammered. Those were some impressive mental gymnastics… "That's… not what I meant."

He looked at me with a befuddled expression for a while, scratching his chin as he did. Eventually, he gasped as he seemed to come to a conclusion. Then, he yelled "YOU ADORE ME SO MUCH THAT YOU WISH TO BE CAPTURED BY ME?! BUT OF COURSE, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PA-"

"That's ALSO not what I meant!"

He turned to the side and looked off into the distance. "HMMMM…" After a bit, he turned to face me again and shouted "AH, I SEE! THEN YOU MEA-"

"NO!" I yelled. "Whatever stupid thing you we-" A chill ran up my spine as I saw his brother staring at me, his pupils gone. It didn't entirely make sense for me to be intimidated, not when I could easily slay them both or just load my save file, but… there was just something about the skeleton that made me nervous. "I mean… while, uh, I'm sure you had a good idea… I don't think it was what I had in mind." The comedian's pupils reappeared. Still, his stare was fixed on me.

"HMMMM… THEN YOU MUST'VE… NO, YOU MEANT…" the skeleton mumbled into the distance. "...GAH! FINE, HUMAN! YOUR CLEVER TRICKS MAY HAVE DEFEATED THE GREAT PAPYRUS THIS ONCE, BUT IT SHALL HAPPEN NO MORE! SO CONTINUE… IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" he continued, before turning and walking away.

"well, that went well," his brother said. "hey, can i ask you a question?"

"…sure," I said, mentally preparing myself to reload my save file. Just in case.

He winked at me and asked "why'd you nearly call yourself a stupid thing?" There was no indication in his voice that he wasn't being serious.

This was not a conversation I was having. No way.

My last save was just after the whole mess with the lamp. Everything went more or less the same way it did last time, except I didn't interrupt the skeletons' conversation this time.

I continued on until I reached a sentry station. At first glance, it looked empty, but I knew better. As I walked past it, I heard a voice from beside me. It said "Did something move? Was it my imagination? I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving… For example, a human… I'll make sure it never moves again!"

A humanoid dog leapt out of the station and stood in front of me.

The battle – if it could even be called that – was pathetically easy. It's only attacks were blue, which meant all I had to do was stand still.

Actually getting it to stop might be a bit harder, but for once, I was free to just think. Though, if it could only see moving things…

I stood perfectly still and waited as round after round of blue swords passed through me, the dog seeming to grow more confused each time.

Finally, it said "There's nothing moving… Did I imagine it?" I had to fight down the urge to smirk, in case that might be considered a movement.

Still, it summoned more and more blue swords, until finally, exhausted, it gasped "Huff… Maybe there was nothing moving after all…" Even then, though, it still attacked once more. Finally, it turned back to its station, muttering "Must've been my imagination…"

And then I reached out and lightly pet it on the back of the head.

"WHAT!" the dog yelled. "I'VE BEEN PET?!" It began turning its head wildly, searching for anything moving. I stood completely still. "NO! NOTHING'S MOVING! WHAT?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"

I chuckled. "WHAT?!" the dog screamed into the air, continuing to spin it's head wildly.. "SOMETHING'S…. LAUGHING! BUT… THERE'S NOTHING MOVING?! AAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

As it continued spinning, I saw its gaze beginning to turn towards me. I forced myself to freeze, and its eyes passed over me as it continued to scan the area. Seeing it seemingly ignore me was too much, and I burst into laughter.

"NO!" the dog yelled. "W-WHAT'S HAPPENNING?! AAAAAAAAARGH! I… I NEED SOME DOGGY TREATS FOR THIS!" It leapt back into the station with lightning-fast speed.

Still chuckling to myself, I moved on.

"whoa, you're sure laughing up a storm there," I heard the comedian say from beside me. He winked as he said, "something tickle your funny bone?"

My laughter was replaced by a groan.

"what?" he asked, with one eye still closed. "i'd say it was quite the humerus rib-tickler."

I let my face sink into my palm.

"oh, come on. well, fine. i'll make sure to tell better jokes in the future... and you can trust me on that. i'm straight as a marrow."

The amount of setup made that one even worse. I sighed deeply. "Please stop."

"alright," he agreed, easier than I'd expected. "so anyway, here's something important to remember. my brother has a very special attack. if you see a blue attack, don't move and it won't hurt you."

I interrupted him with an "Uhhh…"

"what?"

"I've already encountered some of those."

The skeleton looked to the side briefly before replying "nah. couldn't have. they're his own invention."

Alright, now he was just lying. "Then how come that dog back at the guard post used them?!"

He winked at me. "alright, i might have exaggerated when i said he invented them."

I had a feeling I knew where this was going to lead, but I asked anyways. "Alright… what really happened?"

"well…" he paused for a moment, "i think he saw other monsters using them once upon a time and decided they looked cool."

"So, he asked them to teach him how to do it?"

"nah. he just basically tried and tried and tried until he managed to get it right."

That… did not seem possible, especially when it was that one we were talking about. "And… how long did it take him?"

"oh, not that long."

"…how long?"

"well, i'd say about..." He looked to the side. "three years?"

Alright, that made more sense.

"so... you don't want my advice on blue attacks?"

"I think I'll be fine."

"welp. alright, kiddo."

Passing the comedian, I proceeded onwards. As I went, I occasionally encountered the two skeletons, and ended up having to solve a few of their puzzles, if they could even be called that. There were also a few monsters I had to get past, which I did without much incident.

Eventually, I encountered a humanoid dog in armor. It attacked me by conjuring another dog – a normal one – out of magic and sending it at me. Not too hard to dodge.

Once it's attack stopped, I thought about what to do to get past it. The immediate first thing that came to mind was that, if it was a dog, perhaps I should treat it like one. I gingerly reached out towards its head.

Before my hand even reached it, the dog's neck extended, ramming its head – which bore an incredibly excited look – into my palm.

What.

I… I hated it, but I HAD to test this. I reached out towards its head again. Again, it's neck extended until it's head touched my hand. And again. And again. And again… and again… and again…

After the first few times, I burst into laughter. I continued on, though. Eventually, it stopped even waiting for me to pet it – its neck just extended whenever I reached towards it. Good thing, too, because I couldn't even come close to reaching its head anymore.

Some more petting – if it could even be called that – later, its neck turned around back towards the ground. Now, it was getting lower down whenever I reached towards it. I wondered what would happen when it reached the ground.

So, I kept at it until it did. Then, its head simply buried itself in the ground. At first, I thought that was the end of it, but as I looked down the hole it had made, I noticed that whenever I tried to pet it, the hole was getting deeper as the head sunk even lower down.

I sat on the cold snow next to the dog, laughing as I continued petting it. Sadly, this couldn't go on forever. One last time, I patted it on the neck, then stood and left.

And then I remembered something. I was going to come back here and kill this dog later.

…why was that thought so unpleasant? It couldn't be sadness. I didn't care about this dog, it was just entertaining to watch it for a bit. It was just a bit of fun to toy around with, that's all… that was why, I guess. It was just like a little kid losing a toy, nothing more. Still…

No, it didn't matter. Whatever it was, I didn't have any time for it. Just gotta move on.

From there on out, there weren't really any new surprises in the forest. Just solving some puzzles, meeting the skeletons, and getting past the monsters. It was somewhat dull, but at least a few of the puzzles were actually engaging for once.

And I had to admit, the skeletons were somewhat entertaining. Annoying, too, yes, but there were times when I couldn't help but smile a bit at their antics.

Finally, I reached the town near the end of this place. The first thing to do was to go into the shop. It had a glove that let me deal a bit more damage, and an incredibly odd bandana that protected me… somehow. I'd stopped questioning those kinds of things a while ago.

Fortunately, for whatever reason, monsters dropped some gold whenever I convinced them to leave me alone. That was just as weird as the weapons and armor here, but I wasn't about to complain. I bought the items and equipped them.

Well, time to leave this place. One more battle, and then I'd be in Waterfall. Just needed to figure out how to get past the tall one. Shouldn't be too hard, although I'd never actually seen any of his attacks. What were they like, I wondered?

A smile broke out on my face as I remembered his brother. This promised to be fun.

As I moved on, a magical fog began covering the area. Although, "fog" didn't really describe it. It was like someone had painted a pattern onto the air. Bizarre, but oddly beautiful. Also, impossible to see through, though I still somehow saw the skeleton's silhouette at the other end of the field.

He made one last speech, and then it was on. The fog cleared, letting me see the skeleton's confident expression. Softly, I chuckled to myself. If only he knew how easy it was to dispatch him in all the other runs…

His first attack was surprisingly easy. Even compared to a normal monster's attacks, dodging it was incredibly simple. I was somewhat confused – if he was the comedian's brother, he couldn't be that weak… right?

The attack passed, and I considered how to get past him. Well, he seemed pretty friendly – it shouldn't be hard. I said "Hey now, w-"

"SO YOU WON'T FIGHT… THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK!'" he said, cutting me off.

What came next was, indeed, a blue attack. It was every bit as useless as that implied.

And then, I felt my soul turn blue.

The first few times that had happened, the sudden increase in gravity had actually made me fall down. By now, I was used to it, and I managed to remain upright even despite the fact that I wasn't expecting it.

So, he could use that too, hmm? He did have his brother's powers after all. Excellent. It's been a while since I've actually had an interesting fight.

One, single bone came at me. I easily jumped over it.

"YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK!"

Admittedly, I was quite excited. This promised to be fun…

Or at least, that was what I thought. As he attacked again and again, it quickly became clear that even if he had similar powers to his brother, he couldn't utilize them half as well. For a while, I'd retained hopes that this would get a bit more difficult soon, but they were clearly misplaced. He really wasn't that good at fighting.

After a while, he declared he was about to use his special attack. Good! Maybe this would actually be somewhat challenging. Probably not.

And then… a small dog with a bone in its mouth appeared.

He briefly ranted at it. It took a bit of time for me to process what had happened, but when I did, I burst into laughter. Of all things to happen… a dog stole his special attack?!

Clearly disappointed, he said "*SIGH* HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK."

For something he called an absolutely normal attack, it was actually surprisingly challenging, at least compared to everything else he did. The first few bits of it even came close to hitting me, what with me being distracted. Still, I dodged it without much incident.

"WELL… *HUFF!*" he gasped. "IT'S CLEAR… YOU CAN'T! *HUFF* DEFEAT ME! YEAH! I CAN SEE YOU SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS!"

It took some effort not to say _Yeah, keep telling yourself that_.

"THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS," he continued "ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY! I WILL SPARE YOU, HUMAN! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY."

Damn it. Did I really have to pretend I lost to get past this guy? I really didn't want to do that…

Well, I had to. I swallowed my pride and said "Sure."

He beamed for a moment, but then he turned to the side and looked down. "N YOO HOO HOO… I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU…" I felt a flash of frustration, but didn't say anything. "UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD… AND… MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

The skeleton stared at the ground, silently. For some reason, I almost wanted to say something, but I wouldn't know what to say.

So, I walked past him towards Waterfall. But as I did, I couldn't help but glance at him one last time.


	6. A Meeting

**AN:** Apologies for the late upload, it just slipped my mind. I'd like to say it won't happen again, but... no promises.

 **offbrandbiscuit** : It's nice to know I'm not the only one who isn't a huge fan of Papyrus! :P And as for all that stuff about Frisk, well, I'm afraid I can't answer that. Spoilers.  
And... ah, the random insertion of spacing. 'Twas an enemy I kept struggling with when I originally put this fic on AO3... and it appears I still haven't defeated it. Unfortunately, the process of editing a chapter on involves entirely too much hassle for me to bother doing it for something so small as this, so it seems it'll have to remain that way.  
As for your offer to beta-read, thank you very much, but as I already said, I already wrote all of this story on AO3 and the only thing I'm doing now is just porting it over to here. So, again, thank you, really, it means a lot to me, but... it's a little too late for that. Sorry.

* * *

The first thing I felt walking into Waterfall was the sudden warmth. How, exactly, the temperature managed to be so different in places that were right next to each other was not something I could explain, but it was still a nice respite after the cold.

As I walked in, I stopped to look around. The kid was still here – the kid who, in my previous runs, was indirectly responsible for one of my toughest fights. I still remembered the first time that happened. After a while of killing monsters in a single strike, I wasn't even slightly entertaining the notion that this kid might be any different. And they weren't – but SHE was.

That was the first time I'd truly felt the thrill of battle, and it was amazing. A difficult fight was always more fun, and that was a very difficult fight indeed. Hell, after I'd killed her for the first time, I'd thought there would never be any monster more challenging than her to defeat. Of course, I was wrong… ah, good times.

A smile crept onto my face at the memory. It was nice back then. Everything was so much simpler, and yet I was enough of a novice that there were still things that challenged me. Now, it's been so long since I've had a real fight.

The kid wasn't the only monster there, though. There was also an odd one that looked almost like an orange fish stood next to the echo flower, and more notably, the comedian was manning the little stand near the path to the next room.

Most likely, he wanted to discuss something about how I treated his brother. Probably upset that I didn't try and cheer him up. Or maybe he'd simply realized what I'd done in my previous runs.

Whichever it was, I had no intention of listening if I didn't have to. But just as I was about to walk past all the monsters, I heard him say "hey."

Well… I still didn't want to talk to him, but I didn't dare to just not respond either. "Uhhh… what's up?" I asked.

"what's with that tone?" he asked. "haven't you seen a guy with two jobs before?"

I was suddenly very unsure of where this conversation was heading. He was definitely here for a reason, but what could what he just said possibly have to do with anything?!

"fortunately, two jobs means twice as many legally-required breaks," he cheerfully said, looking to the side. "i'm going to grillby's. wanna come?"

"No, not really," I said. I really didn't want to go anywhere with him, but I didn't have a valid excuse. If he wanted to press the issue, my best choice if I didn't want him to suspect me – which I didn't – would probably be to comply and hope it doesn't go too poorly.

"why's that?" he questioned. In all honesty, I was expecting this.

I mumbled something under my breath, trying to find an excuse, but I didn't come up with anything that wouldn't just make him suspicious of me. With a sigh, I said "Aright, fine, I'll come with you."

"huh. you changed your mind quickly... well, alright, if you insist... i'll pry myself away from my work..." Weren't you just trying to get me to come? The comedian worked in inscrutable ways…

He walked away from the stand and towards the path that led further into Waterfall. "over here. i know a shortcut."

Yes, a 'shortcut'… well, at the very least, I'd get to experience how it feels to teleport like he does. That promised to be interesting.

"Alright," I said, walking over to him.

Surprisingly enough, it didn't really feel like anything. I was just standing in one place one moment, and in another the next.

"fast shortcut, huh?"

"If that's what you want to call it."

He ignored my quip and turned around. "hey, everyone," he said, and a chorus of return greetings sounded from various points in the restaurant.

As he walked towards the counter, a bird monster – not that one, fortunately – asked "Hey Sans, weren't you just here for breakfast a few minutes ago?"

"nah, i haven't had breakfast in at least half an hour."

"That's not much be-" I began.

"you must be thinking of brunch."

That, I actually chuckled at. Well, what do you know, the comedian actually did something funny for once…

Meanwhile, the entire restaurant erupted into laughter. Yeah, it wasn't a horrible joke, but… did they really find it THAT funny?! Monsters… I was never going to understand them.

"here, get comfy," he said, gesturing towards a chair. I stepped over to it, but just as I was about to sit down, I remembered what kind of person the comedian was. So, I looked down first.

There was a whoopee cushion on the chair. I carefully and delicately picked it up, then flung it as hard as I could in the direction of the door before sitting down.

"nice, kid," he said. "yeah, you gotta watch out. sometimes weirdos put whoopee cushions on chairs."

"Huh," I said, pretending to be interested. "About that… I've got a question for you."

"yeah?"

I folded my arms, and a smirk appeared on my face. "Why'd you call yourself a weirdo just now?"

Gotcha, comedian.

He didn't seem particularly upset by what I just said. "i did? must not have noticed."

My palm hit my face. "Well, no, you didn't… I meant, because you said weirdos put whoopee cushions on chairs, so when I said you called yourself a weirdo, I was implying that you… put…" I looked around the restaurant to see eyes fixed on me in an expression of almost physical pain, and it struck me just how stupid I looked right now. "…never mind."

He smiled at me. Not the normal smile he wore all the time – a very meaningful smile that told me he knew exactly what he was doing. "well, whatever. let's order," he said, as if the previous conversation hadn't ever occurred. "whaddya want?"

Right. This was, after all, a restaurant… "I don't really care," I said, looking down at the counter. Where was this heading?

Well, that was the question. This guy wouldn't have pulled me somewhere like this if he didn't have something big to discuss, or more likely something big to dance around just enough that I get his point without him ever saying it directly.

"alright. well, what do you say to some fries?"

"Sure, I guess," I shrugged. Again, I didn't really care. Besides, I was too preoccupied with trying to figure out what this comedian was playing at to think about anything else.

"ok. grillby, we'll have a double order of fries." The fire monster behind the counter didn't say a word, just walked away and disappeared behind a door. Almost as soon as he did, the skeleton turned to me and said "so, what do you think of my brother?"

So that was where this was heading… or was it? Knowing him, he probably had something else to talk about too…

Well, regardless, I didn't particularly feel like giving him any more reasons to suspect me than I needed to. After all, he was the main threat to my plan. So, I forced a smile and said "He was really cool."

"of course he's cool. you'd be cool too if you wore that outfit every day. he'd only take that thing off if he absolutely had to." He shrugged. "oh well. at least he washes it. and by that i mean he wears it in the shower." I grimaced before I could stop myself. Ruse or not, I was beginning to regret my previous statement.

Fortunately, a convenient distraction drew attention away from me. Namely, the fire monster reemerging from the door and coming over to us with two baskets of fries. "here comes the grub," the skeleton said. "want some ketchup?"

"Eh…" I muttered neutrally.

"well, bone appetit," he said. Of course he had to make a pun too…

Well, might as well, I guessed… I began slowly tipping the bottle over the fries.

The cap fell off and all of the ketchup spilled over the fries.

For a moment I was dumbstruck, then I put two and two together and a short burst of laughter came out of my mouth. I turned to him and, still chuckling a bit, said "Alright, not bad."

"whoops," he said absolutely nonchalantly. "eh, forgeddaboudit. you can have mine. i'm not hungry anyway." He slid his basket over the counter towards me, though I wasn't particularly interested in it.

"anyway, cool or not, you have to agree papyrus tries real hard." Right. The tall one. Got to keep my mind on the topic, especially when dealing with this guy. "like how he keeps trying to be part of the royal guard. one day, he went to the house of the head of the royal guard and begged her to let him be in it. of course, she shut the door on him because it was midnight."

"Wait," I interrupted him, and immediately regretted it.

"what?"

What I'd originally wanted to say was _And if it wasn't midnight, you think she wouldn't have?_ , but that was a horrible idea. Instead I just said "Uh, never mind. Go on."

"uh, ok. well, the next day, she woke up and saw him still waiting there. seeing his dedication, she decided to give him warrior training." I felt like I could guess how that ended up going… "it's, uh, still a work in progress." Yeah, I'd noticed. "oh yeah, i wanted to ask you something."

Oh boy. This was where it got to the problematic part, right…?

"have you ever heard of a talking flower?"

Wait, this was about him? That was… unexpected. Though, I suppose it shouldn't have been; yeah, the flower was perfectly normal to me by now, but that wouldn't be the case for the monsters.

"Actually, yes," I said. I wasn't sure just how honest I wanted to be with him, but then again, he seemed like the kind of person who could easily catch me out on a lie, and I didn't really want to risk that.

"so you know all about it. the echo flower," he said in a dramatic tone.

That wasn't quite what I meant. Of course, knowing him, he probably knew exactly what I meant and was just messing with me. It was annoying, but trying to get him to stop was one of the few things I'd given up on.

"they're all over the marsh. say something to them, and they'll repeat it over and over..." he continued. "what about it? well, papyrus told me something interesting the other day."

And suddenly, my scattered thoughts all turned towards the conversation.

There was no way what the tall one had told him about was a simple echo flower. He wouldn't have pulled me here for something like that. So that meant that not only was THAT flower somewhere around here, he wasn't hiding, which was all he'd been doing for many of my previous runs. That was interesting. It all begged a single question; why?

I wanted to ask the comedian about the details, but I knew he wouldn't give me an answer. Instead, I just continued listening. "sometimes, when no one else is around... a flower appears and whispers something to itself. something about a demon, i think he said?" he said, and looked at me quizzically. To anyone else, it might have looked like him just wanting me to provide my thoughts on the issue. To me, though, it confirmed the suspicions I've been having for a while. Yeah, he knew what I'd done. "he said the flower looked... afraid."

A small grin spread across my face, forcing me to look away from the skeleton so he wouldn't see it. True, I knew the flower was scared of me, but THAT scared? That was satisfying.

"weird, huh? someone must be using an echo flower to play a trick on him." he said. This was why I hated the comedian. I knew him too well to think even for a second that he didn't know the truth, so why didn't he just say it?!

Honestly, I'd had enough. I was going to get a straight answer out of him, dammit! "Alright, skeleton," I said, slamming the counter with my hand, "I know you know the truth. Stop playing dumb!"

He stared at me. "truth?"

I growled. "Oh, come on! Are you telling me echo flowers can look afraid?!"

"oh, that?" He crossed his arms behind his head, looked up and half-closed his eyes, as if the answer was obvious. "that part must just be his imagination."

"REALLY?!" I yelled. "Are you se-"

"so keep an eye out, ok? thanks."

I sputtered indignantly for a bit, but clearly, he was done talking about that. I'd be happy if our little meeting ended there, but there was no way that would happen. He'd definitely realized the truth about my previous runs by now, and even if he didn't, there was still the matter of me giving his brother the cold shoulder. If I was really unlucky, he was going to talk about both…

He stood up from his seat. "welp, that was a long break. i can't believe i let ya pull me away from work for that long." Wait, what? No… there was no way he was just going to let it go. I mean, I'd be happy if he did, but… he wasn't going to. No way! "oh, by the way…" he started, and I realized this was where he started asking questions. Alright, here it goes…

"i'm flat broke. can you foot the bill? it's just 10000G."

That wasn't what I expected. For a moment, I was too stunned to say anything. When I came to my senses, I said "Uh… no."

"just kidding. grillby, put it on my tab," he said and walked to the exit.

Wait… no. That… he wasn't just going to not bring that up, was he? He wasn't the type of person to just let that sort of thing go…

By the time he was nearing the exit, I couldn't take it anymore. This was probably a terrible idea, but I had to know… "Wait!"

"what?" he said, turning back to me. I began having second thoughts about this, but…

"Isn't there something else you want to ask about?!" God, this was so self-destructive, but I really wanted to know why he wasn't saying anything. Maybe he was saving it for later use. In that case, it would actually benefit me to bring it up here…

"what do you mean?" OK, there was no way he didn't know…

"Oh, come on! I know you know."

"nah. how'd i know? i mean, why'd i be keeping an eye on a normal kid like you?" he said. Well, duh… because of my previous runs. He knew about those, right? There was no way he didn't, and even if he didn't, he knew about my powers. But then… why wouldn't he be watching me? Unless he was lying… but then, why didn't he bring it up?

So, which was it? Was he not lying? Or did he just decide not to bring it up? And in either case, why?

If he just didn't bring it up, was it because he wanted to use the knowledge at some later time? On the other hand, if he really wasn't watching me, was that because he thought I might notice him keeping an eye on me? Or was he just too busy trying to figure out how to stop me?

Or… did he really think I could change? No, no way… he couldn't be that stupid.

But there was something about his face. It didn't have that look he often wore when talking to me during those previous runs. His tone was different, too. They both seemed… relaxed. Friendly, almost.

He couldn't really think I'd change after all those runs, could he?

Something caught my eye in the corner of my vision. I looked up – I hadn't realized I'd shifted my gaze towards the floor – and saw the skeleton smiling just a little bit wider than before. And when our eyes met, he gave an almost imperceptible nod, almost as if to say _Yes, I do_.

An odd warmth rose up inside me. I pushed it out of my mind with a fury I didn't know I had.

Come on, I thought to myself. You're not that little kid, you're not some stupid monster, you're not a naïve fool. You're Chara! You're above these things! It doesn't matter what the hell they think of you, not when you've got power over time itself! So quit giving a damn and remember what you're doing!

"hello?'

"Oh!" My train of thought derailed immediately. "Oh, uh… never mind."

"alright," he said before walking out the door, me following behind him. When I left, though, he was nowhere to be seen.

That had gone better than expected. But I…

I clenched my hand into a fist. No. No, I was going to do what I wanted to do in the first place, and no one was going to stop me. I'm the bloody Soul of Determination, after all!

I grit my teeth and, once again, set off into Waterfall.


	7. Interlude 1

**AN:**

 **offbrandbiscuit** : Thanks for your understanding. And yeah, Chara's being more than a little paranoid here, but... can you really blame them when it's _Sans_ they're dealing with? :P

* * *

Cold air filled the dark room. It was probably one of the least cheerful sights in the underground – dull blue walls, a dull blue floor, a dull blue ceiling… everything was just a dull blue.

Everything, that is, except for the two small wooden chairs and tables. Each of the tables were next to a wall, and they were opposite each other. One of them was occupied by Par, the bird monster. On the other chair was a tall skeleton in a suit.

"Hah!" the bird monster laughed, his arms crossed behind his head and his gaze fixed blankly at the ceiling. "Honestly, I'm surprised the skeleton didn't just call them out. He knows, right?" Par looked over at the other monster with a questioning gaze.

"Certainly."

"Well, that raises questions…" Par paused for a moment, before cheerfully saying "Still, I'll take it. Sure, I'd prefer them getting in hot water, but did you SEE how stupid they made themselves look?"

"Yes, yes…" the skeleton grumbled. "Now can we please get to productive uses of our time? My powers are a very useful gift, and I'd rather not use them to satisfy your idle curiosity."

"And what do you suggest we do, Gaster?" the bird asked. "After all, it's not like we can just snatch the souls while Asgore's watching them."

Gaster drummed his fingers on the table with one hand as his head leaned on the fist the other formed. "I've said many times that you could easily beat him." His tone was utterly exasperated.

"Really?" Par said, dragging the word out. "And what about, oh I don't know… ALL THE MONSTERS IN NEW HOME?!"

"By the time they got there, we'd already have the souls," Gaster slowly pronounced, as if he'd explained this a million times before.

"So what?" the bird asked. "You think 7 human souls will be enough to fight EVERYONE?!"

"Yes," the skeleton bluntly said.

"Well…" Par stammered. After a moment, he growled, waved his hand, and looked at Gaster over the back of his chair with an exasperated gaze. "Look, I don't want to take that big of a risk."

"Fine," Gaster said in surrender. "So what do YOU suggest we do?"

"Well, how about that idea I've been talking about, hmm?" Par asked impatiently.

"My opinion on it hasn't changed." The former scientist's voice was annoyed. "It's a gamble that we have no need for. There's no need to take the risk."

The bird sighed. "See, I thought you'd say that." He picked up something from his table. "So that's why I brought this."

Gaster twisted his head around in order to see the object Par was trying to show him. It was a little piece of wood.

A little piece of wood filled to the brim with magic.

Or rather, that's what any normal monster would've thought. Gaster knew better, though. He knew what was truly in the wood, and it wasn't magic as such. Rather, it was simple, pure power – a tremendous amount of it.

The skeleton stood up from his chair and ran over to Par. "Are you kidding me?!" he yelled. "What possessed you to do this, you idiot?!"

"Hey now," Par said, a note of mockery in his voice. "Don't forget whose magic's holding your soul together."

"Grr…"

"And besides, now you can't exactly object to the plan, can you?" the bird asked smugly. "After all, anything that would've been wasted is already wasted."

Gaster's face seemed torn between anger and exasperation. Finally, he turned towards the ground and, through gritted teeth, muttered "You bloody idiot…"

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

The skeleton turned in disgust. "Fine," he spat. "Do as you will. But when something goes wrong, don't come crying to me."

"Hmph. Sooooooo worried…" Par mocked. "THIS is the person who built the Core? I'm surprised you didn't shoot the idea down because it'd take up too much space!"

Gaster sighed, ignoring the bird's quip. "I'll just go do something actually useful." As soon as he finished the sentence, he disappeared.

Par stood up from his chair and looked over with annoyance at the spot where Gaster had been. "Sure. Whatever…"

Then, he thrust his hand outwards and opened his palm, exposing the little piece of wood. He sent a small pulse of magic into it, and the power began draining.

As it flew out of the wood, the energy stored within flew towards the center of the room. It stayed there, a blinding white light hanging in the air, the air crackling around it as it was jostled by the sheer power. Soon, the calmness that dominated just a few moments ago had given way to raging winds, and the light had coalesced into a whirlwind that dominated the center of the room.

Just one more thing Par needed to do. He sent a wave of his own magic at the whirlwind, intending to force it to his will. As the magic intermingled with the raging power, the hurricane began turning orange. And then, slowly, it began taking shape.

The power was twisted and warped into a humanoid shape, winds still billowing around it. As more of Par's will poured into the magic, it changed further, growing more and more detailed. The featureless light was shaped into textures of metal and ornate patterns as the wild power was tamed. Still winds whipped around the figure and the air crackled as the power struggled to escape, but Par had enough magic to keep it under control.

Finally, the power had calmed completely, and the figure stood in the middle of the room. It appeared similar to a human knight from back during the war – enemy or not, Par always thought their armor looked nice.

An expression of surprise appeared on Par's face. He'd expected it to work, yes, but… perhaps not so perfectly. A moment later, though, the surprise gave way to joy.

"HA!" the bird laughed, raising his fist into the air. "Eat your heart out, Gaster!"

He couldn't wait to see the look on his face. And as a matter of fact, he didn't have to wait. "Hey, skelly!" he yelled, sending a small signal to the magic permeating Gaster's soul.

Gaster appeared in front of him. "Wh-" he began in an annoyed tone, before he looked over to the creation and his eyes grew wide. "That WORKED?!"

The bird shrugged. "Well, what do you see in front of you?"

Gaster growled between clenched teeth. "Alright." he snapped. "So what? How useful do you think it'll be?'

"If I had to guess? More useful than you've been," Par smirked.

"Tsk!" Gaster hissed in indignation. "Don't forget, you wouldn't have even known about the resets if not for me, you ungrateful little sh- AAAAARGH!" He dropped to the floor suddenly as a dull glow shone from his body.

"That'll be all," the bird said coldly. "Don't forget, you're only alive because of me. I can undo that any time I want."

The skeleton stared up at him, fury in his eyes. He stood up slowly and spat out a "Fine."

"Hmph…" the bird grunted. "Whatever. Anyway, one more thing. We need a name for this thing, right?"

Gaster just hissed at him.

"Right. Well, I'll call him Slayer," Par said.

It was hard for Gaster's expression to become any angrier, but it managed. "That has got to be the stupidest name ever."

"Since when did I care about your opinion?"

Gaster growled for a moment, but he didn't dare try anything else. Instead, he just sighed and said "Fine. So what do we do with it?"

"We'll figure that out," Par said with a wave of his hand and sat back down in his chair.

"Wh-" Gaster stammered. "You're telling me you did this without even KNOWING WHAT YOU INTEND TO DO WITH IT?!"

"Well," the other monster said defensively, "he's bound to be useful eventually."

"Are you ki-" Gaster began.

"And one more thing, Gaster," Par barked. "Figure out a way to beat the resets."

Despite Gaster's anger, he still snapped to attention immediately. His face settled into a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"You heard me," the bird said. "I need to have something we can use against the kid. Something that means we don't just instantly lose because they can reset."

Gaster hesitated for a moment, then, slowly and as calmly as he could, told Par "Let the scientist in the room tell you this: That is impossible. The resets affect time itself. Short of getting the souls, we don't have any way around that."

"Come on," Par said, staring right at the skeleton. "So what if they can affect time? We've both got the ability to remember them. Clearly, they aren't infallible."

"But- That's not- I-" Gaster stammered. "Hm…"

Gaster walked over to his chair, sat down, and put his chin in his hand. First and foremost, he was still a scientist, and regardless of personal feelings, he couldn't resist the opportunity to research something. "Perhaps… perhaps I can work something out," he said.

"Perfect," the bird said. His voice was still cold.

"And quit the condescension for one minute," Gaster said, looking over the back of his seat. Par said nothing.

Finally, the bird stood up from his chair, walked over to Slayer, and said "Right, Gaster, you stay here and work on that. I'll see what this thing can do."

"Uh-huh," Gaster nodded.

"Mind teleporting us over to, uh… let's say Waterfall?" Par asked. Of course, he wasn't actually giving Gaster any choice in the matter, and Gaster knew that. He stood from his chair, grabbed Par and Slayer by the arms, and a moment later the two of them vanished.

Then, with a sigh, Gaster returned to his chair, grabbed a pen and notebook from his pocket, and started jotting something down.


	8. Bridges Over the Abyss

**AN:** Again, apologies for the late update, though this time I actually have an excuse - my internet was down this morning.

* * *

The first room of Waterfall hadn't changed much since I left. This time, though, the comedian didn't stop me as I passed through it. I moved onwards absentmindedly, though fortunately, I retained enough presence of mind to spot the falling rocks in the next room before I got hit by one. Weaving between them wasn't too hard, so it wasn't difficult to come up to the entrance to the secret room and push it inwards.

Inside the room, there was a dusty old tutu. And by some cruel twist of fate, the rules of the Underground – however they worked – made it so that the tutu was the most effective piece of armor I'd found so far. Ah well. I'd been through this enough times that I was used to looking stupid, even if I didn't like it. I grabbed the tutu and put it on.

Making my way to the actual exit of the room with the rocks wasn't hard, either. Ahead was a hallway with some grass in it, surrounded by two towering walls. From the top of one of them, I heard something heavy clanging around. That would be the fish. A small smile broke out on my face as I realized I'd probably get to fight her in this run, too. It'd be nice to have a challenge for once.

Just as I was leaving the hall, I heard the sound of running feet behind me. A moment later, something grabbed onto my sweater and tried to pull me back. Turning around, I saw it was the same child who I saw in the first room, my sweater clenched in their teeth. They began talking, their words muffled. "Yo, what are you doing?!" Their teeth unclenched from my clothes and they began talking again, more clearly now that there was nothing in their mouth. "She-she's right here! Th-this… this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Once in a LIFETIME!" Their words fell out in an excited frenzy.

Oh, yes. I rolled my eyes at the memory of just how much of a bother this kid was. This time around, I supposed I couldn't just ignore them… "And?" I asked. "She's just standing there. It's not like she's going to do anything special."

"Yeah… but… but… but!" the monster kid yelled, still just as excited as before but seeming much less sure of themselves. "She's… she's so cool!" they shouted at the top of their lungs. "And… and… we might get to watch her beat up some bad guys!"

"Really?" I asked him. "And do you see any 'bad guys' here?" Well. Except myself, of course, I mentally added. But they didn't know about the resets, so what I did in past ones didn't matter.

"Well… uh…" they stammered, struggling to reply. "No, but… I… she… well, uh…" Their voice slowly changed to a defeated tone as they tried their best to find an argument. Clearly, they weren't doing too well.

Taking the opportunity, I walked onwards with a sigh, leaving the kid behind. The next room had a puzzle that wasn't there in my previous runs. Solving it took a bit of trial and error until I realized it might be a good idea to actually read the sign. Still, I got there in the end.

The next room had a similar puzzle. It was a bit more complicated, but it still took less time to solve, mostly because now I actually knew what to do. When it was done and I was about to proceed, I heard a ringing noise in my pocket.

After a moment, I remembered about the cell phone the goat had given me. So, someone was calling me. Who was it? It wouldn't be the goat. She'd want to pretend I never existed. Oh, she'd never say that, but I knew it was true. She'd given up on me and she didn't want to be reminded of it. The only other people I really knew were the two skeletons, but neither of them had my number. Then who could it be?

Curiosity took the best of me and I answered the call. Through the phone, the taller skeleton's voice sounded. "HELLO! THIS I-"

"How do you know my number…?" I interrupted.

"I'M GLAD YOU ASKED!" he yelled. "IT WAS EASY!"

Really now…? Did the comedian tell him? He shouldn't know my number either, but with him anything's possible. Besides, if it wasn't him, how else would he know? The flower, maybe? That one might actually have a reason to know – he remembered resets, and I wasn't exactly paying attention to the kid's runs – but why would he tell the skeleton?

"I JUST DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I GOT YOURS!"

It took me a few moments to process what I'd just heard. What did he mean…? He dialed every number? Every number in… what?

Then I realized that, knowing him, he probably meant every number in the entire Underground.

As soon as I did, I burst out into laughter. How long did that even take?! What about all the monsters who just randomly got a call from him?! When did he START?! I saw him talking to the fish a few minutes ago, so that means he started quite recently… which begged the question, HOW?! Could he somehow type in phone numbers ridiculously fast? Even then, he'd need time to wait for someone to respond, then to make sure it wasn't me…

"AH! I SEE YOU LIKE MY METHOD!" he yelled into the phone. It was so loud I flinched away from it.

"Pfahahaha…" Trying to say anything through the laughter was hard, but I tried. "H-how, ahaha, how did you, hahaha… how, how long ago, hah, did you start?!"

"UH…" The sound of an impact came out of the phone, most likely because of him putting it down somewhere. It took a while before he came back and responded. "A MINUTE AGO!" he confidently yelled, before adding in a much less confident tone "WELL, FROM THE START OF THE CALL. NOT A MINUTE BEFORE NOW. I STARTED A MINUTE BEFORE WE STARTED TALKING."

Fortunately, the brief interlude gave me a chance to collect myself. "Wait, but then…" I started, before briefly pausing to make sure there wasn't a simple solution I was missing. Confirming that there wasn't, I raised my voice almost to a shout and said "How fast did you call numbers?!"

"UH… I FORGOT."

Was the universe just conspiring against me? With how little luck I'd had finding answers, it seemed like it.

"ANYWAYS, SO…" It was tempting to interrupt him and press further on the issue of the phone number, but with these skeletons, trying to find anything out was a fool's errand. "WHAT ARE YOU WEARING…?"

Wait, what? Why would he want to know that? I racked my brain for possible reasons briefly, but I couldn't come up with anything. At that point, I just decided to put my confusion into words. "Where in the world is THAT coming from?!"

"SNOWDIN, OF COURSE!"

"That's not what I meant." How in the world did this skeleton manage to be so annoying without even trying?

"UH… MY HOUSE!" he tried, apparently being completely unaware of the actual meaning of the phrase.

Deciding to just save myself the trouble, I told him "What I meant was, why are you asking this?"

"ASKING…? OH, RIGHT! I'M… ASKING FOR A FRIEND."

A friend, eh? Well, there was one 'friend' of his I could think of that would want that information… "Really? And would this friend happen to be the Captain of the Royal Guard?"

"UH…"

"I'm not telling you a thing. Bye." I hung up. Felt nice to figure the trap out. With a smile on my face, I moved on.

Wait. Why did I do that? I wanted to fight the fish, not avoid her. Curses…

At the very least, the next few rooms were uneventful. Nothing of interest happened until I started crossing a very long bridge, at which point a spear struck it just ahead of me with a loud thud.

Any other person would've probably been shocked and worried. After experiencing this who knows how many times, though, I barely even reacted as I stepped around the spear and moved on. More spears came my way from the side, the fish throwing them at me over and over in groups of three. Dodging them as I made my way across was simple, even considering the fact that the bridge zig-zagged. Why DID the bridge zig-zag? That made no sense.

Regardless of how sound the bridge's design was or wasn't, it didn't really matter, since in under a minute I was past it. The path ahead was covered in grass that was taller than me. Shoving it out of the way as I walked was annoying, and having no visibility wasn't great either, but there weren't any other options.

After I waded through the grass for a few seconds, I heard a familiar thudding noise behind me. The fish. Of course. She'd come here in every run I'd done. No reason for that to change this time.

I turned around and yelled "Hey, fish! You looking for me? Well, I'm right here!" from out of the grass. This wasn't the first time I'd done this in hopes of getting to fight her early, and it had never worked. Still, this was a rather different run, so I let myself get my hopes up.

At nearly the same time as I finished talking, I heard the monster kid's voice from behind. "F-f-FISH?!" They sounded very personally insulted. "Yo, that's… that's UNDYNE you're talking about! Show a little respect!"

Yep, same as in every other run where I'd tried this. And, like in every other run where I'd tried this, I saw the glint of a spear approaching me through the grass, then it stopped as if to think for a moment, and then an armored hand reached down, grabbed the monster kid from beside me, then let them go, and finally I heard the rhythmical thudding of her walking away.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when it had happened this way in every previous run, but it was still disappointing. Sighing, I walked forward through the grass. Guess the fight would have to wait…

Just as soon as I was out of it, the monster kid ran up ahead of me and began saying "Yo… di-" I shoved them out of the way and walked on. Right now, I really wasn't in the mood to hear more of his ranting about her. "Hey, wh- what was that for?!" he shouted from behind me.

I only got a bit more time to walk in peace before another interruption came into view. Namely, the comedian, standing next to a telescope.

"Alright," I sighed and said in a resigned tone. "What do you want?"

"want?"

"You wouldn't be here unless you wanted something from me."

"nah." He said it in a completely sincere voice, but I knew him. The voice was hardly going to convince me.

"Then why, pray tell, are you here?" I asked, my tone becoming agitated. That was technically bad – this skeleton was the last person I wanted to annoy – but with how much he'd toyed with me, I found it hard to care.

"well, i'm thinking about getting into the telescope business."

"Okay, there-" _…'s no way that's actually the reason_ , is what I was about to say before he cut me off.

"it's normally 50000G to use this premium telescope... but... since i know you, you can use it for free."

"Right," I said, drawing out the "i" and rolling my eyes. "You'll forgive me if I don't take you up on the offer."

"sure."

Wait, what? He was willing to just... let me go? No way. He had to have something else planned for this discussion.

Well, regardless of his intent, he'd accidentally given me a perfect chance to exit the conversation – so I'd use it. I turned and walked away, a smirk on my face at having outwitted the comedian at last. Whatever it was he wanted to question me on, it'd be lost to the sands of time… or, more likely, I supposed, I would hear him calling out to me from behind.

I walked towards the ladder in front of me, waiting all the while for the comedian's voice to come from behind and stop me. It never did, though, and I climbed down the ladder. Once I was down, I walked to a particular room using a route I'd memorized a long time ago. When I reached it, I stuck my hand into the bush in the center and pulled out a pair of ballet shoes. I hated these things almost as much as the tutu, but they somehow had the most attack out of anything I'd found so far, so I put them on.

That little detour done, I walked onwards on the twisting paths. An acute awareness of what was on my feet as I did nagged at the back of my mind. That was the worst part of the shoes – I couldn't even just forget about them…

My thoughts were broken by the sound of my cell phone ringing. I took it out and answered the call. "What do you want, skeleton?" He was the only one who knew my number, and no one else would try THAT method.

"WOWIE! YOU KNEW WHO I WAS! THAT MUST MEAN…" He paused briefly and gasped. Then, a ceaseless stream of words tumbled from his mouth. "YOU LIKE ME SO MUCH YOU ALREADY KNEW I'D CALL YOU AGAIN! I MUST REALLY BE AN AMAZING FRIEND!"

"No, that…" I began, before remembering how useless arguing with this skeleton was. "You know what? Sure. As long as it keeps you from bothering me, sure."

"WOWIE! YOU'RE SUCH A GOOD FRIEND!"

I just sighed. "So what do you want?"

"WELL… REMEMBER WHEN I ASKED YOU ABOUT CLOTHES?"

"Yes." I was about to add something like _So, was I right about it being the Captain of the Royal Guard?_ , but remembering how the start of this conversation went, it'd probably be better to just let him talk.

"WELL, THE FRIEND WHO WANTED TO KNOW…" He paused briefly. "HER OPINION OF YOU IS VERY...

"Murderous," I finished for him.

"MURDERY," he said at the exact same time.

"I know." I wasn't too concerned about him getting curious as to how I knew. After all, I wasn't even sure if this skeleton knew what the word _suspicion_ meant.

"RIGHT! WELL, IT'S A SHAME YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING. YOU SEE, I HAD THE GREATEST IDEA PREPARED!"

He had a great idea? About as likely as his brother not being lazy. Still, might as well hear him out, if only for a cheap laugh.

Instead of continuing, though, he just paused for a while. After just enough time had passed for it to start getting awkward, he said "UM… HELLO?"

"What?"

"YOU WERE, UH, SUPPOSED TO REACT."

"Wait, but… you haven't explained your idea yet."

"OH, YOU WANT ME TO EXPLAIN IT?!" He said, joy building up in his voice gradually as he did.

"Sure," I said, reluctantly. I was pretty certain I'd regret that, but I was curious.

"WELL, IT'S SIMPLE! I WAS JUST GOING TO TELL HER WHAT YOU SAID!"

My jaw dropped, and my mouth hung open for a while. Of course, I wasn't expecting miracles from this one, but… really?! I'd at least expected something resembling a plan, not just selling me out instantly! "The hell?!" I yelled into the phone.

"AH, BUT HERE'S THE THING!" he said proudly. "AFTER SUCH A SUSPICIOUS QUESTION, I KNEW YOU'D CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES! YOU'RE SUCH A SMART COOKIE!"

The expression of anger fell away from my face, replaced by exasperation, as I slowly shook my head. Really…? I couldn't even tell if that was better or worse than him just straight up betraying me. At least the other way, I could still believe he at least had something resembling intelligence somewhere in there…

"So let me get this straight," I slowly said, my voice raised just a bit. "You gambled my LIFE on the assumption that I'd find your question suspicious?! YOU STAKED EVERYTHING ON THAT?!"

"YES!" he said, seemingly completely unaware of my anger. "BUT YOU WERE TOO SMART! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING! SO THAT'S WHAT I TOLD HER!"

"Riiiight," I said, rolling my eyes. "And…?"

"WELL. SHE DIDN'T, UH, SAY ANYTHING. OR REACT AT ALL, REALLY." His voice was a bit different, just a bit less enthusiastic than usual. But a moment later, it snapped back. "SO I JUST ASSUMED EVERYTHING WAS FINE! AFTER ALL…" He paused, probably trying to be dramatic. "IF SHE STILL WANTED TO KILL YOU, SHE'D BE UPSET. SO THAT MEANS SHE'S OK WITH YOU NOW! AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO ME! BEING FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE IS EASY!"

He hung up as soon as he finished the last word. Unfortunate – I had a few choice words for him.

Well, whatever. Not having to deal with him anymore was also a nice alternative. With that done, I continued on until I reached yet another long bridge.

There was a monster in the water near the bridge that hadn't been there in my other runs. It seemed to have nothing better to do than talk my ears off, completely failing all the while to pay any attention to whatever I was saying. After trying in vain to hold an actual conversation with it for a bit, I just decided to ignore it and move on. Fortunately, the monster couldn't follow me very far, and I was able to proceed undisturbed.

After that, there were a few more uneventful rooms before I reached yet another long bridge, if this one could even be called that. When I stepped on it, a few blue lights appeared on its surface. In response, I quickly leapt ahead, narrowly dodging the spears that came out of the ground.

As the spears slowly faded, a clatter sounded to my right as the Captain of the Royal Guard slowly stepped out of the shadows and made herself known. How DID the shadows conceal her so well? She was wearing bright, heavy armor, and yet no matter how hard I tried, even knowing she was there, I could never see her until she wanted me to. Guess combat wasn't the only thing she was good at.

I sped up to a running pace, easily weaving between spears as I went on. Sadly, even this was no longer a real challenge. It used to be one, and it had remained one for quite a long time, but after doing it over and over again, even this lost its excitement. Inwardly, I sighed. So was this how it was, now? Was never having a challenge again the price for resetting so much?

No, that wasn't quite true. The fight with the Captain still forced me to give it my all, even after all these loops. So at the very least, that was something to look forward to.

Eventually, the bridge came to a dead end. I stopped at the very edge, then turned and sat down on the wood. Of course, I already knew what would happen next.

A short wait, and there she was, walking towards me. Her stature, her gleaming armor, the metallic clamor ringing through the cavern… they made her an imposing figure, even when I knew there was nothing to fear.

I heard a sound from above me, and then, for a brief moment, my vision filled with blue as a wall of spears cleaved the bridge in half.

As I plummeted downward, I could swear, just for a moment, that I heard a voice. Just like in every run before this. Of course, I didn't really. There was nothing around it could've come from, so I must've been imagining it. It felt so real, though…

All those thoughts went through my head in just a moment. In a moment more, I felt the impact of me hitting the ground.

I stood up and walked onwards. The wood I was standing on was surrounded by water, but even for a kid like me, it was only at chest height, so I could wade through. I tried my best not to think about what was in it.

Just as in my previous runs, there was a dummy further along in the dump. I ended up in a fight with it (not a very difficult one… of course), and had to dodge its attacks for a bit before we were interrupted by the ghost from the ruins. The ghost eventually invited me to come to its house, but I wasn't exactly interested.

With that over with, I left the garbage dump. There was a shop nearby, where I bought a pair of glasses and a notebook. They were effective as armor and weapon respectively, although the reason for that remained as inscrutable as always. I equipped them – maybe they weren't strictly better, but I preferred not to look like a fool.

As I proceeded onwards, the light began slowly dimming, until eventually I could barely see my feet. It hardly mattered. I knew the Underground like the back of my hand.

Following the imaginary map I had in my head, I reached a single echo flower standing at a dead end. It said, slowly, "Behind you."

I turned around as the darkness retreated. She was standing there – the Captain of the royal guard. I would've loved to fight her here and now, but sadly, it'd have to wait. If this was anything like my previous runs, we'd have a bit of an interruption from a certain kid…

"…Seven," she said. "Seven human souls. With the-"

"Power of seven human souls, your king will become a god, break the barrier, and take his revenge on humanity. And you want me to give up my soul," I finished for her. "Now can we get to the point?"

She'd stopped so suddenly when I started talking. Now, she was just staring at me, unmoving. It was just a shame she was wearing a helmet. I would've given anything to see her face at that moment.

Before she could recover from the shock, the monster kid leapt down from above. "Undyne! I'll help you fight!" they shouted, before turning towards me. As soon as they did, their eyes widened in shock. "YO! You did it! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!"

"In a manner of speaking…" I noted, trying to maintain a sardonically flat tone despite my annoyance. Why did they have to always show up here?

They looked around for a while, seemingly ignoring my quip, before staring off into space and wondering aloud "…wait. Who's she fighting?" When they were done, she walked up to them, grabbed their face, and dragged them off. "H-hey! You aren't going to tell my parents about this, are you?" they shouted as they were being taken away.

I sighed. The silver lining, at least, was that the fight I so desired wouldn't be too far ahead.

And so, I walked onwards until I reached a thin, wooden bridge. I felt almost giddy as I walked down its length. Finally! It was finally going to happen!

My excitement was interrupted by the monster kid's voice coming from behind me. Right. I'd almost forgotten, but they'd been here in all the other runs. Of course they'd be here this time too.

It was annoying, but an odd curiosity took hold of me too. What would they say here? It'd have to be quite different from what they said in the other runs.

"Yo!" they yelled, and then began awkwardly walking towards me, hesitating and looking down at their feet after almost every step for a while. After a bit, though, they paused for a moment, gathered themselves, and walked on with their head held high. "Yo, I know I'm not supposed to be here, but… I wanna ask you something." They looked downward, and their brief confidence seemed to disappear. "…Man, I've never had to ask anyone this before… Umm…" They paused briefly. "Yo… you're human, right? Haha."

Wait, what?

They… they didn't know I was human? That seemed too stupid to even consider as a possibility. Although, now that I thought about it, the monsters wouldn't actually know what humans looked like. Did they just think I was another monster?

"Uh… yeah," I said, still a bit dumbfounded.

"Man! I knew it!" they shouted. "…well, I knew it now, I mean. Undyne told me, um, "stay away from that human." So, like, ummm… I guess that makes us enemies or something."

"Er…" I didn't really expect this. How could I even respond to that? Eventually, I just settled for an "…I guess…"

"Yeah… but…" they looked down at the ground awkwardly. "I kinda stink at that, haha. Yo, say something mean so I can hate you?"

Well, that was surprising. Most things here didn't seem to need a reason to try and take my soul. Nice to know there was at least one person who didn't instantly want to kill me.

That said, if they themselves told me to say something mean, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. "Alright. But honestly, do I even need to say it? You sound like you've realized it already."

"Uh… what?" they asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I'm talking about the Captain. Your idol." I stared down at them. "Don't you see it? She wants to kill me. KILL me. Look at me." They looked at me obediently. "You think I did anything to deserve that?" Well, of course I did, I added mentally. But they didn't need to know that.

"I… well… um…" They looked down again, and stepped away from me slightly.

"No. No, I didn't. I'm innocent. And she wants to kill me." The kid shook a bit. I took a step toward him. "Oh, and what about all the other humans? You think they did anything to deserve death? No. They were innocent children. And you know what I'd bet was going through their heads as she slaughtered them? Terror." Tears started welling up in their eyes, and they stepped back again, looking at the floor. "They were terrified." I placed a hand under his chin and forced their head up, and looked straight into their eyes. "If I threw you off this bridge right now, what would you feel? Well, just think what they felt as their lives ended – as they saw their blood seeping out onto the floor, the light fading from their eyes." I shoved them backwards. "They didn't do anything. They weren't "bad guys". Oh, I'd say they were people just like you were. And you know what? She killed them anyway. She killed them all."

"N-no!" they yelled. "Undyne wouldn't… she wouldn't… she… she…" They started crying.

"Face it. You've been worshipping a murderer all this time. Nothing more."

"A… a…" Their mouth hung open as they tried to formulate a response, tears seeping into it. Seeing them standing there, completely defeated, trying to comprehend their world coming down around them… it caused a horrible feeling I couldn't quite describe. But that made no sense. They'd annoyed me constantly up to this point. This was a fitting revenge…

And yet, back then, when they'd just found out I was a human, they didn't attack me. They didn't want to attack me.

Slowly, their crying intensified, until finally they turned and ran, tears staining the bridge behind them. Somehow, I felt awful.

But I didn't have much time to focus on that. They ran for a second or two, and then I heard a shrill yelp as the kid tripped. Their feet scrabbled for purchase in a panicked attempt to keep themselves from falling, but it was too late. By the time they'd even realized what was happening, they were almost off the bridge, and so their legs dragged after them and they fell off the side, just managing to desperately cling to the bridge with their teeth. They screamed, as much as they could with their teeth biting into wood, and their eyes darted towards me, tears still falling from them. Those eyes… they were full of terror.

What I'd said earlier played in my mind over and over again. _And you know what I'd bet was going through their heads as she slaughtered them? Terror._

Why did I want to do something? Yeah, it'd make me look way less suspicious if I saved them. But even disregarding that, for some reason, I wanted to help. Seeing them hanging there, eyes full of fear, terrified of the drop below… I don't know why, but I didn't want to see them like that.

Even when I turned away, I still felt wrong. It was like there was something inside of me – something that hated how pitiful they were, something that hated the terror in their eyes… something that just wished they didn't look at me like that.

I slowly turned my head back toward them, and the moment I met their eyes again, that something acted on its own. My feet took off, sprinting toward them. Their eyes followed me, the terror only growing as I approached. Either they thought I wanted to finish them off or they were just more scared of me than the fall. But regardless of what they thought, I wasn't just going to leave them to fall.

The moment I was close enough, I reached down and grabbed them by their head. Then, I… then what?! What now?! I wasn't even close to strong enough to pull them up! My mind raced, desperately trying to find a solution.

Gathering what little physical strength I did have, I leaned backwards and pulled the kid up as high as I could. At the very least, their head was above the bridge now. But now, they weren't biting into the wood anymore, so I had to hold them up all by myself. My arms hurt, genuinely hurt – it was a feeling I hadn't truly felt in a long while. At the same time, the effort of trying not to just get dragged down with them tired my legs out too. If I couldn't resolve this soon, something would give.

There was one idea I had. It was far from guaranteed to succeed, but… it was the best I had. "Swing up," I said through gritted teeth.

They seemed confused, like they didn't entirely understand what I was asking of them. Panic flashed through my mind as I realized how unclear my wording was. All I could think was _Please let them understand, please let them understand…_

After a moment, though, they seemed to realize that they had to do SOMETHING, and so they bent their legs at their knees and swung them upwards as far as they'd go. Fortunately, they'd apparently figured it out. I took one of my hands off their head and instead used it to reach down and grab their foot. As soon as I had it securely in my grasp, I took my other hand off their head and grabbed their foot with both hands. For a moment they hung upside down, before I pulled their leg up onto the bridge. Then, I dragged it towards me, pulling the rest of their body with it. As soon as it was safe, I let go.

I fell onto my bottom, panting, as sweat poured from my forehead. My hands and feet were numb, and my limbs felt like they were burning.

The kid awkwardly pushed themselves up to a standing position and stared at me. Their eyes were still wide and full of tears and they were biting nervously into their lower lip, but there was relief in those eyes too. They seemed unsure of what to make of me, and I could see why.

And then I looked up, taking my eyes off them for the first time since they fell. There, on the other side of the bridge, I saw her. The Captain.

"Ah…" I said between breaths. A weak chuckle came out of my mouth. "He… hello."

Just a moment ago I'd have welcomed the fight, but with the way my arms felt, I doubted I could even use them right now. The best choice would be to run away now and fight her later, once I'd recovered. But I could hardly outrun her in my current state, and if I died and had to reload my save, I'd have to rescue the kid again. I wasn't sure how many times I could take that.

The monster kid shouted "U-Undyne!" between sobs and running towards her. "Y-you… You didn't… You didn't, right... right…?" Their tone was hysterical and desperate, desperate for any comment from the Captain to overturn what I said.

Taking advantage of the moment, I forced myself to stand up and slowly staggered away. Thankfully, she was too preoccupied with the kid to even try to stop me.

So I just stumbled onwards until I heard a clanging sound behind me. That was how it was going to be, eh? Well, I guessed I'd just have to figure out something better next reset…

No, wait. The clanging was moving away from me. As I realized that, a wave of relief came over me.

And then, once I couldn't hear it anymore, I sat down. It felt, more than anything I'd done in a long time, great.


	9. Clash

The moment I was out of the room, I collapsed to my knees. Hardly any other options – I was too tired to even walk. Besides, even ignoring that, I still really wanted a break after what I just did.

So I just sat on the ground for a while, taking in the sights. Of course, the "sights" weren't exactly the most exciting in the world – it was mostly just a lot of dull blue, a few drops of water breaking the silence every once in a while. But even if the view was boring, it still felt really good to just sit there for a while.

I didn't sit around for too long, though. It only took a minute or two before I felt good enough to proceed, and doing nothing was quickly growing boring. Of course, I was still tired, and all my limbs still hurt, but I was used to that.

Ignoring the ache in my legs, I moved onwards until I reached the base of a mountain.

And at the top of it, there she stood, her back towards me.

"Hello again," I said.

"…Seven," she said, ignoring my greeting. "Seven human souls, and King ASGORE will become a god. Six. That's how many we have collected thus far."

"So you want my soul," I said, guessing her next words. "Are you actually going to say anything I don't know yet?""

For a moment, she was silent. Whether she was just being dramatic or she'd actually been caught off guard by my words, I couldn't tell. Finally, she spoke.

"As is customary for those who make it this far… I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people. It all started, long ago…" she said, and then stopped for a while. Suddenly, she whirled around to face me and yelled "No, you know what? SCREW IT!"

"My thoughts exactly," I muttered under my breath. She probably didn't hear it.

"WHY SHOULD I TELL THAT STORY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!?"

"I agree," I said, smiling as I looked up towards her. "Let's get to the battle."

"NGAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she shouted, tossing her helmet off. "You're eager, eh?! Well, punk, let me tell you something! You're the one standing in the way of everyone's hopes and dreams! Alphys's his-"

"You want to kill me, right?!" I yelled at her from the bottom of the mountain, interrupting her speech. "Well then, come down and fight! Or are you scared?!" Not the cleverest taunt, but it'd probably work.

"Pwahahahaha!" she laughed. "SCARED?! Of you?! Well, if that's how you're going to be…" She drew her spear with a flourish and pointed it at me in one smooth motion. "Step forward when you're ready! Fuhuhuhu!"

I was tired and sore and I hurt all over. Even just walking wasn't too easy, and I couldn't vouch for whether or not my arms would respond to my commands. My body really didn't want to do anything, and it made its protests known loud and clear.

But I'd been denied this fight for so, so long. And I wasn't going to put off one of the few things that could actually challenge me.

Yeah, everything hurt. Yeah, I was in horrible condition. But I was ready.

"Let's go," I said with a smirk, and stepped forward.

"That's it, then…!" she yelled. "No more running away! HERE I COME!"

She leapt down from the top of the mountain, spear pointed downward, and I had to jump backwards to avoid immediately being impaled. In an instant, she tore her spear free from the ground and turned to face me. For someone in such heavy armor, she moved deceptively fast.

Wasting no time, she immediately spun away from me and magically created another spear before throwing it to me. No, not at me – it was very clearly thrown TO me. I wasn't sure what she was doing, but I caught it anyway.

That very instant, I felt an odd sensation deep inside me – the sensation of magic affecting my soul. My feet froze to the floor as the green magic struck me.

All of that happened within about a second, and then she was charging at me, spear in hand. Of course, I'd had quite a bit of practice with her already, and it was going to take quite a lot more to catch me off guard. I raised the spear she gave me in front of myself, positioning it to block her charge. The tip of her spear collided with the handle of mine and bounced off, forcing her to take the smallest step backward. I knew she wouldn't let that stop her, though. I whirled around and saw another spear, created and propelled by magic, flying at me. A quick swing knocked it out of the air.

"That's it?" I said, turning towards her with a smirk on my face. "Thought you'd be more competent than that."

She grimaced and gestured with her spear. Out of the edge of my eye I spotted another spear coming from the left and another from the right. I spun to the left first, knocking that spear out of the air. As I did, though, another spear from where I was just facing caught my attention. Whirling back around to face her, I knocked that one out of the air too before parrying the one from the right in the same smooth motion.

This was what I was looking for. This feeling – the feeling of adrenaline racing through my veins, the feeling of rushing to parry every single spear, the thrill of truly having to fight for my life, and the satisfaction when it all came together… this was what I'd been missing all this time!

But still, this wasn't like when I fought her back in my previous runs. It wasn't enough yet. Again, I turned towards her, a smile on my face. "Oh, not bad, not bad!" I said cheerfully, slowly clapping my hands. "But can you do better?"

"ARGH!" she screamed. "ARE YOU MOCKING ME, YOU LITTLE-?! ALRIGHT! SEE HOW YOU LIKE THIS!"

Spears appeared all around me. Two ahead and one to the left, and that was just what I could see. For just a moment, I didn't do anything, waiting for the spears to get closer. Then, I spun around, my spear held outwards. Two of the Captain's three spears fell to the ground, and at the end of my spin, I was left facing where I was previously, allowing me to conveniently block the last one.

But by the time I had, more spears had already appeared. I swung my spear to the left, deflecting one coming from that side, then swiftly whirled my body to the right to block another one coming from the right while also getting one coming up from behind me with the same swing. As I did, I noticed that there was another one coming from the direction of the Captain, but I couldn't deal with it yet – another two spears had immediately replaced the two I'd just blocked. I knocked those out of the air with two quick swings, leaving me with my back turned to my foe. I lifted my spear over my head as I turned to face her and smashed it down over the last spear, sending it into the ground.

The instant my spear collided with that one, I felt the pull on my soul release as it turned back to red. My spear disintegrated in my hands as another one appeared right in front of me and flew forwards. She barely gave me any time to process what was happening, but I'd had enough practice. I threw myself onto the ground to the left, then quickly scrambled to get up, expecting another attack. None came, though – at least, not immediately. Of course, I assumed this would be a brief respite, but it could still be useful. After all, I needed to find some way to get past her without killing her, so having a moment to think was good.

If I knew anything about her, though, it wouldn't be enough of a moment. A quick glance in her direction confirmed that – she was clearly already preparing her next move. That was an issue. I couldn't block spears and strategize at the same time, so if she was going to be this relentless, I couldn't get anything figured out.

Unless, I thought, a smirk creeping onto my face, I managed to get myself some more time. After all, she wasn't standing in front of me anymore…

I ran past her and into the mountain as fast as my legs would take me. Fortunately, the time with the green soul had given my legs some rest, and a combination of that and the adrenaline seemed to have mostly gotten rid of the ache.

The Captain seemed briefly confused, but I quickly heard the sound of her armor thudding along on the ground. She was quick to recover from shock – unfortunate, but not unexpected.

Still, I'd managed to buy myself a bit of time, and I couldn't use it thinking about that. Instead, as I ran, I frantically tried to figure out a way to get her not to fight me. Despite how much my mind was racing, though, I couldn't find one. The only way she was letting me go was if there was a way to break the barrier without using my soul, and that was impossible. Besides, even if I did find one, I still wouldn't be too quick to assume she wouldn't want to kill me anymore.

In the back of my mind, I was aware of her footsteps growing ever closer. When they got a bit too close to comfort, I turned my head sideways – just in time to see her conjuring another spear in her hand. I watched her carefully, and the moment she threw it, I dropped down and slid along the ground. It was somewhat counterintuitive, since the spear and I were still moving in the same direction, but since I was moving so much slower and was low to the ground, the spear just passed harmlessly over me. Not the safest maneuver, but it didn't slow me down too much, which was important right now. Fortunately, I'd tried this a few times already in my previous runs, so I had some practice.

Even that slowed me down, though, however slightly, and even without that, she was still faster than me. I couldn't play keep-away much longer, especially if…

My thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of my soul turning green once again. Precisely what I was worried about.

Again I found myself stuck to the ground, and I expected she'd seize the opportunity – assuming, without knowledge of how many times I'd fought her, that I'd be surprised – and attack. She didn't, though, at least not immediately. Instead, a spear materialized in my hand. I supposed she wanted a fair fight, which was convenient for me. Of course, even if she didn't, I had my ways – but this did save me a good bit of effort.

More waves of spears rained upon me. So far, I could still keep up with them without too much difficulty. Still, they were fast enough that the battle gave me that thrill I'd been looking for since the start of this run. Sadly, this still wasn't as hard as the fight against her was back in my previous runs, but it was close enough. Besides, after how long I'd spent without a challenge, I'd take just about anything.

I rhythmically turned to face each of the spears, knocking them out of the sky as I did. She, meanwhile, was clearly getting more and more annoyed at being unable to hit me – it was visible not only in her face, but also in the spears. They were getting even faster now, but the patterns were less measured, as if she was wildly lashing out. Probably, I thought, because that was exactly what she was doing.

Knowing that I was frustrating her was satisfying, but I could barely think about that. Mostly, my mind was occupied with blocking spears. I could still keep up fairly easily, but they were getting faster and faster.

Finally, I felt the pressure disappear from my feet as my soul turned red and the spear in my hands vanished again. One more spear appeared in front of me, and I jumped out of the way purely on instinct – she didn't give me enough time to actually think about it.

Unfortunately, I still had no real idea as to how I could get her out of the way. That meant I'd have to get myself a bit more time to think.

Again, I turned and sprinted away from her. She shouted something from behind, but with the wind rushing past me and my mind occupied with getting as far away as quickly as possible, I couldn't make out what it was. Of course, it only took a short time before I heard her footsteps behind me. I turned my head sideways so I could see her, just in case she tried something.

So far, she seemed content to just chase me without attacking at the same time. Unfortunately, that only slightly helped; she was still faster than me, and while I did have a head start, I saw that I wouldn't be able to keep it for long.

Then, ahead of me, I saw a turn in the road as it went towards Hotland. A smirk crept onto my face as I realized what I could do.

Before reaching the corner, I turned about forty-five degrees to the right and leapt as far as I could.

For a few moments, I flew through the air, the path seeming impossibly far away. Then, I made it. Just barely, and it wasn't the best landing, but it would work. I turned my head sideways again, and out of the corner of my eye I saw the Captain take a slight step back from where I just was, a bewildered expression on her face and a few beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Seems she wasn't expecting me to do anything like that, which worked to my advantage.

For a moment, she seemed conflicted about what to do, then her face set into a determined expression and she turned to face the same gap I'd just leapt over. That, I thought, meant that she was planning to do the same thing I'd done. Unfortunate, but I'd still bought myself a few moments just by startling her.

She ran at the edge and jumped. Not for the first time, I found myself surprised at how agile she could be in a full suit of armor. She made it, and she did so far more elegantly than I did.

Still, I'd gotten myself an advantage, and by the time she started running after me again, I found myself close to the entrance to Hotland. It wasn't long before I was standing on red rock surrounded by lava, and the cool, damp air of Waterfall was exchanged for stifling heat. Nothing new, of course, but it was still hardly comfortable.

There was one sight, though, that I very much didn't expect – that of the comedian, sleeping at a guard post. I just ran past him – mentally noting that I'd have to figure out what was up with that later – but the Captain took the time to stop and yell at him about it. Excellent.

Her pause gave me the time to run across the bridge ahead of me before I heard the sound of her footsteps again. Suddenly, though, they started slowing down, the familiar clangs getting less and less frequent.

That was curious. Was she tired? No, she wouldn't be, not yet. Then what…?

Out of curiosity, I turned my head sideways. Behind me, I saw the Captain still following me, but for whatever reason, she seemed to be having trouble. Her arms were tense, her face was drenched with sweat, her teeth were clenched, she was looking at me with almost crazed eyes, and she was barely walking forward, only taking a step every couple of seconds. Even when she did, the movement was slow, and she barely lifted her foot off the ground.

For a moment, I tried to puzzle out what was happening. Then, it hit me. Of course – she was wearing metal armor in this heat. That could hardly be doing her any favors.

She continued staring down at me, though, defiant as ever, and after a while, she took another slow step forwards. And again, and again. Even as her face twisted in clear pain, she continued onwards.

"Armor… so… hot…" she finally growled, confirming my theory. "But I can't… give up…"

With what was clearly a tremendous effort, she took a few more steps towards me, each one shorter than the last. Eventually, she raised a single, trembling arm towards me, and for just a moment, I felt a pressure gather on my feet again. But as she worked her magic, her face glazed over, and slowly, she began falling forwards, her armor making a clamor on the bridge as it struck the wood.

For a moment, I wondered with some confusion why she wasn't getting up. It didn't take long to realize she was unconscious.

So that was it, I supposed. Not exactly how I imagined our fight ending, but I'd take it.

I was about to turn and walk away when something caught my eye. A water cooler, sitting on the edge of the platform.

Suddenly, I stopped.

Well… I couldn't just leave her, right? At the end of the day, if she died here, that would raise unnecessary questions.

But would those questions lead back to me? After all, there was no one around except for the skeleton – and as many odd powers as he had, I highly doubted even he could see in his sleep. If I let her die here, no one would know anything except that she was gone, and they probably wouldn't suspect me. Besides, if I did help her and she woke up, what then? There wasn't anything stopping her from just attacking me again.

Yeah, I thought. Logically, it would be sound to just leave her. She was pretty tough, and this probably wouldn't be enough to kill her; besides, even if it was, the chance of her death being traced to me was negligible. If I were to help her, though, there was a rather good chance she'd just attack me again. That was a bigger risk.

But I didn't want to leave her. Why the hell didn't I want to leave her?

It was stupid. Foolish. There was no reason not to just walk away and forget about her. Yet I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Silently cursing myself, I walked to the water cooler, took a cup of water, and poured it over her head.

For a few moments nothing happened, then her eyes slowly opened. She got up, holding her head, and when she was standing again, she looked at me. Her eyes were confused, but I could see the memories coming back. I could see the realization come over her as her face turned to complete, nearly insane fury.

She stared at me like that. In that moment, she looked bestial, outright feral. Like a wolf that couldn't wait to tear into its prey.

Eventually, though, she turned and walked away. I let out a breath I didn't quite realize I'd been holding.

Just when I'd turned and started to proceed onwards, I heard a ringing in my pocket. With a bit of frustration, I pulled out my phone. "What is it?" I asked whoever was on the other end – probably the skeleton.

"WELL, I WAS JUST THINKING… YOU, ME, AND UNDYNE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT SOMETIME!"

"No," I said. "I'm… busy." It was a lie, but I really didn't want to try and explain anything to him.

"ALRIGHT! LET'S HANG OUT LATER, THEN! I THINK YOU WOULD MAKE GREAT PALS!"

He really believed that. He genuinely thought the human-hating Captain of the Royal Guard, who's killed and taken the souls of several humans, could become friends with me.

It would've been easy to just tell him _no_ and be done with it. That would've been easy. Instead, I asked him "Really? And why do you think that?"

The skeleton paused for a moment, before saying, somewhat nervously, "WELL, ACTUALLY… UM… UNDYNE'S BEEN… REALLY ON EDGE RECENTLY…"

He paused for a moment. "I REALLY THINK SHE… UH… I THINK SHE REALLY NEEDS A FRIEND RIGHT NOW."

I couldn't stop myself from chuckling slightly. "Sorry, but… you realize the reason she's on edge is because of me?"

"WHAT?" he asked, seeming genuinely confused. "BUT… YOU'RE NOT A BIRD…"

A… bird? What was THAT about? "Well… yes, I'm not! What does that have to do with anything?"

"WELL… SHE'S BEEN TALKING ABOUT SOME SORT OF BIRD MONSTER…"

And suddenly, I realized just what he was talking about.

I felt myself involuntarily tighten my grip on the phone. "A bird monster?" I asked, just to make sure I heard it right.

"YEP!"

"Did she tell you anything else about him?" I asked, my voice raised a bit.

"WELL… UH…" He paused.

Damn it. I really didn't want him to come up empty. "Please! Anything at all? I need to know!"

"OH! SHE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT HIM BEING REALLY STRONG!" That sounded like our resident bird alright…

"Where did she meet him?!" I tried to keep my voice calm but firm, but I found myself yelling into the phone regardless.

"UH… WELL… I THINK…"

This bloody skeleton… why did it have to take so long to get him to tell me anything? I needed information, and I needed it now. There had to be some better way to get it...

That's when it struck me. Of course – if the fish was the one who encountered him… "Never mind that," I said, cutting him off. "I'll go… hang out with you two."

"REALLY? THAT'S GREAT!" I wasn't even sure if he realized I had an ulterior motive.

"Sure," I said. "Where is it?"

Getting him to give me the location in a way I could understand wasn't easy, but after a while of back-and-forth, I felt like I had a good enough understanding of where to go. I hastily muttered a valediction into the phone, hung up, stuffed it into my pocket, and took off towards the given location.

When I got there, there was indeed a house in front of me. The skeleton was standing there, too, so it must've been the right one – presumably, it was the Captain's. Although, in that case, it really wasn't what I was expecting.

The entire thing looked like a massive fish's head. The thing's "eyes" served as windows, and its "teeth" were, I presumed, a door. For someone so serious as the Captain, the house seemed uncharacteristically silly.

"OHO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!" the skeleton announced. "ARE YOU READY TO HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE? I HAVE A PLAN TO MAKE YOU TWO GREAT FRIENDS!"

The skeleton had a plan? Curious. On one hand, it would almost certainly fail, which would be unfortunate – I needed her to be willing to talk to me, after all. On the other, at least it might be good for a laugh.

"Sure. Let's go," I said. Hopefully, I'd at least be able to get the information I needed. That, at least, wouldn't be too unlikely with the skeleton there – she probably wouldn't want to start anything in front of him. What happened afterwards didn't matter much.

"OKAY! STAND BEHIND ME!" he shouted, before trying to whisper "PSST. MAKE SURE TO GIVE HER THIS! SHE LOVES THESE!" He showed me a rubber bone with a ribbon around it. Then, he put it back in his… whatever he used to store it and knocked on the door.

The door opened, and the Captain was standing behind it. She had a casual smile on her face, which, again, struck me as a bit uncharacteristic. After the house, though, I supposed I shouldn't have been too surprised.

"Hi, Papyrus!" she said cheerfully. "Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training?"

"YOU BET I AM!" he yelled. "AND I BROUGHT A FRIEND!"

He ran to the side, letting the fish see me. I folded my arms and looked up so as to meet her eyes.

"Hi, I don't think we've…" she began, before a moment of realization set in. Her teeth clenched and her brow furrowed. She was still smiling, but it was clearly forced.

For a few seconds, the three of us stood, still as statues, not saying a word. Of course, I had quite a few things I wanted to say to her, but… not with the skeleton there.

Finally, the fish tried to force herself into a more relaxed expression and said with clear disdain in her voice "Why don't. You two. Come in?"

The skeleton went in first, and I followed him. The interior of the house was surprisingly plain, though on second thought, I wasn't sure what I was expecting.

"HERE, UNDYNE. MY FRIEND BROUGHT A GIFT FOR YOU, ON THEIR OWN!" the skeleton said, before retrieving the rubber bone from wherever he was keeping it.

For a moment, I was confused. Then, I realized he'd lied to try and get her to like me. That was surprising, coming from him.

"Uhhh…" The fish hesitated for a moment, before uttering a somewhat confused "Thanks." She walked up to him and grabbed the toy.

"I'll, uh, put it with the others," she said, then walked over to a cabinet and placed the bone inside. While it was open, I noticed it was full of little rubber bones, just like the one the skeleton gave her just now. Even after he'd literally told me, and after all the various things that had already surprised me about the Captain, I still couldn't help but be surprised – and somewhat amused – that she had a collection of those.

She walked back to us and asked "So are we ready to start?"

Suddenly, the skeleton yelled into the air "WHOOPSY DOOPSY! I JUST REMEMBERED! I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM! YOU TWO HAVE FUN!" The moment he was finished, he ran over to the window and leapt out.

The absurdity of the spectacle left me speechless, staring dumbly at the shattered window. Finally, still staring at the window, I wondered out loud "Do… do skeletons even have to…" My voice trailed off into nothingness.

Somewhat satisfyingly, the fish seemed to also have been left speechless. It was only for a brief moment, though, and it wasn't long before she was staring me down. She asked "So why are YOU here?" Her voice wasn't aggressive, as such, but it was certainly firm.

I wasn't about to let the thing about the skeleton go, though. "Are skeletons breaking your windows a daily occurrence for you?" I asked, cutting her off.

She just growled at me, before asking again "Why. Are. You. Here? To rub your victory in my face? To humiliate me even further? IS THAT IT?"

"No." Though that would've been a great idea.

"Then why are you here?" she asked, anger building in her voice.

"Quite frankly, I wish I wasn't," I said, starting to pace around the room. "But I've got a reason. Are you going to hear me out?"

The fish hesitated a bit, then said "Alright, fine. What is it?"

Excellent. I'd managed to get her curious, even if only slightly. That would help.

"Well…" I began, walking towards the chair in front of the table. "I've heard that you may know a few things that interest me." I sat on the chair, rested my elbow on the table, and leaned my head on my fist, never taking my eyes off her. Back when I was alive, I'd learned a good amount about how people act, and one of the things I'd found was that when you acted like you owned the place, others would act like you owned it too.

"Hey! Who said you could sit there?!" she yelled. I didn't move from my spot. Couldn't show weakness, not when I wanted to get information out of her. Besides, if I hadn't distracted her, she'd probably have said something like _And why should I tell you?_ just now, and I had no answer to that. What I needed to do was get her engrossed enough in what I was saying that she didn't bother to pay attention to the details – like why she should tell me anything. And since the bird was something that affected her, too, that wouldn't be too hard.

"As I was saying…" I continued, then paused for a brief moment. She didn't interrupt. Good. "Your friend – the skeleton – told me something very interesting." Saying that was important. There was a chance she'd feel angry at me at the end of this for whatever reason, and saying that gave me a convenient way to redirect her fury to someone else. Besides, it was true. "Something about- "

A loud smash resonated through the room as the Captain's fist hit the table, hard. It lingered for a few seconds before finally fading. When it did, she turned towards me, a scowl on her face, and yelled "Cut to the chase already!"

I hadn't even considered the possibility that she'd do that, even though in hindsight, it seemed obvious that she would. That threw a wrench into the plan. If I did just get to the point right now, while she was like this, she'd almost certainly refuse to tell me anything…

Time to improvise. "My apologies," I said in a sweet voice, standing up and bowing my head slightly. "I understand you've got very important duties to attend to, yes?"

"Oh no, human," she chuckled. "You're not getting me with that mock niceness of yours! "Ooh, look at me, I'm soooo nice and kind to everyone!" HAH!" Her impression of me was rather clearly meant to be insulting. It was working. "How about you just get to the point already?! That is, if there even IS a point to this!"

Stay calm. I had to stay calm. If I flew off the handle – if I started an actual confrontation – I had no chance at getting her to tell me anything. And yet, I had to make sure I was the one steering the conversation before asking her any questions. More than that, I needed to grab her attention, enough that she'd just answer anything I asked without thinking too hard. Otherwise, she'd just refuse to answer, and that would lead me nowhere.

All in all, that meant I couldn't get to the point, not right now. On the other hand, if I didn't, she'd get even more frustrated – unless I managed to distract her from what this was supposed to be about. If I could get her thinking about something different, I could bring up what I was actually here for later, when I had a good opportunity.

Yes, that would probably be the best plan. But how could I do that? If I just started talking about something else, she'd just tell me to get to the point again and that would be that. Therefore, I had to make sure whatever I wanted to be the temporary topic had to flow smoothly from the current one. In addition, it'd also have to be something that could transition smoothly back to the topic I actually wanted to discuss – making an awkward transition would not be good for me.

"Hello?!" she yelled. I suddenly realized I'd been staring down at the table in contemplation for longer than I'd wanted. "The point!"

I turned towards her, frantically trying to figure out my next course of action. "Uh…" I stammered. Dammit! How had this gone so wrong?!

She waited for a moment, before slowly breaking out into a toothy grin and saying "Wait," dragging out the "a". "I get it."

Wait, what?! No, I hadn't given her any information on what I wanted, not yet... Was she keeping tabs on the skeleton? If she was, she might know what he told me. But how would she do that? Besides, she didn't seem like the type. So what did she know? Did she even know anything, or was her guess incorrect? Even if it was, though, why did she feel confident enough to make any guesses at all? So far, I'd intentionally been as vague as possible…

She continued on. "There IS no point, is there?" Contempt rose in her voice as she walked towards me. "You're just here because you think I'm gonna be friends with you, huh?" She stopped suddenly and glared daggers at me. "Is that right?"

The first thing I felt was relief. Okay, good. She didn't know what I was here for, and what she'd guessed was actually a conclusion she could've reasonably come to just from what I'd already done. My worry about some sort of hidden way she could've gotten info was unfounded.

I let out a breath, then paused for a moment, trying to figure out where to take this from here. That was when a second realization came to me.

When it did, I had to stop myself from laughing. Fortunately, I managed, but even then, I was worried a grin had broken out on my face.

Of course! I was searching for a distraction – some other direction I could take this conversation – and she'd just provided one for me! No need to frantically try to work through options in my head, aware that time was ticking all the while. All I had to do was go along with this until opportunity knocked, and then I'd be set!

"Oh! Uh, yeah!" I said, as enthusiastically as I could manage.

The fish forced a wide grin and said in a mocking tone "Really? How delightful! I accept! Let's all frolick in the fields of friendship!"

 _Quit mocking me,_ was what I wanted to say. Fortunately, I managed to restrain myself. Actually blurting something like that out while supposedly trying to befriend her would harm my chances a lot, at best. At worst, it'd blow my cover instantly.

"…NOT!" she yelled, in a _gotcha_ tone of voice. Did that mean it was supposed to be unexpected? "Why would I EVER be friends with YOU?! If you weren't my houseguest, I'd beat you up right now!"

Once again, I had to stop myself from saying something that would seriously compromise my position. In this case, it was something like _Yeah, try it. We already saw how that went._

"You're the enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams!" she said. Hadn't she already said the same thing back at the mountain? "I WILL NEVER BE YOUR FRIEND," she firmly stated. "Now get out of my house!"

That went very poorly, very fast. Now what?! I HAD to get her to talk. Any information about the bird, any at all, could be crucial! But there I was, being kicked out of the house, and I doubted that straight up disobeying her would make her any more inclined to tell me anything.

Or… was that true? If I just refused to leave, yeah, she wouldn't talk. But again, if I could just find a distraction – something to keep her mind occupied until she forgot she was supposed to be kicking me out – I could make it work. But what?! What could I possibly use here?!

That was when a voice I'd forgotten was even here interrupted the conversation. "DANG! WHAT A SHAME…" it said. I turned to the left, and sure enough, the skeleton was standing at the window. "I THOUGHT UNDYNE COULD BE FRIENDS WITH YOU. BUT I GUESS… I OVERESTIMATED HER. SHE'S JUST NOT UP TO THE CHALLENGE."

The skeleton briskly walked away from the window, but the Captain was still staring at it, her face twisted into a caricature of shock. Finally, she yelled "CHALLENGE!? What!?"

In that moment, I'd realized what the skeleton had done. My eyes went wide from surprise, but a moment later, a small smile crept onto my face.

"Papyrus!" she called. "Wait a second…!" Of course, he didn't.

It seemed the skeleton was smarter than I'd thought. Interesting.

"Darnit!" she yelled. "He thinks I can't be friends with YOU?!" That was the moment I knew the trap had worked. I'd thought it would, but that reaction erased the last shreds of doubt from my mind. "Fuhuhu! What a joke! I could make friends with a wimpy loser like you any day! I'll show him!"

With that, the fish focused a stern gaze on me and said "Listen up, human. We're not just going to be friends. We're going to be…"

"BESTIES," she said, her arms in the air. She was clearly trying to look excited, but the fact that neither her face nor her voice had changed broke the façade. "I'll make you like me so much, you won't be able to think of anyone else! Fuhuhuhu! It's the PERFECT REVENGE!" she yelled joyfully into the air. Well, that had suddenly taken a turn for the creepy.

The fish paused for a moment, before folding her arms and rearranging her face into a smile that looked surprisingly genuine. I could still tell it was fake, but it was nowhere near as obvious as I expected. "Why don't you have a seat?"

Following her advice, I once again took the seat I'd just left a minute or two ago. "Comfortable?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, smiling. Really, it wasn't; it was hard wood, after all, and it didn't even have a back. After all the close calls I'd already had, though, I wasn't going to try my luck.

"I'll get you something to drink," she said before taking off towards the fridge. She opened it and spread a few of the contents on the countertop. "All set! What would you like?"

I stood up, intending to walk over and take one of the items. Or, I tried to stand up, but the moment I started, a spear struck the table in front of me. It was so sudden that I flinched backwards and stumbled on the chair, falling right back onto it. "HEY!" the fish yelled. She was still trying to look cheerful, but her face was contorted by anger. The result was rather unsettling. "DON'T GET UP! YOU'RE THE GUEST! SIT DOWN AND ENJOY YOURSELF!"

After quite a while of having to stop myself from blurting things out, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Before I could stop myself, I shouted "The hell?! Do you normally throw spears at people who mildly annoy you?!"

"Um…" she started, before looking away and blinking a few times. Then, she paused for a moment, before turning back to me and saying "Um, why not just point to what you want? You can use the spear!"

I was admittedly rather disappointed I didn't get a reaction out of her, but at least my little slip-up didn't have any consequences. Clearly, she was very focused on completing the "challenge" if she was willing to ignore even something like that. That was good – it meant our goals were aligned.

I grabbed the spear and inspected the items on the countertop. There were some teaboxes, some hot chocolate, some soda, and some sugar, presumably for the tea.

For some reason, back when I was alive, everyone always thought I was obsessed with chocolate. True, I liked it, but for some reason everyone just assumed that meant it was my favorite thing in the whole wide world. It was rather silly, but still, I couldn't deny chocolate was nice. I pointed the spear vaguely in the hot chocolate's direction.

"Oh, you want some hot chocolate?" she asked, and I nodded in response. Just as she was starting to walk towards it, though, she stopped suddenly and said "Wait, wait, I just remembered… that container's empty. I stopped getting it because it was always a hassle; Asgore kept getting marshmallows stuck in his beard."

I shrugged. "Alright then. How about…" I pointed at the tea. It was an entirely random choice.

"Tea, huh?" she clarified, and again, I nodded. "Coming right up!" She walked over to the countertop, messed with some things, and put a cup on top of the stove.

"It'll take a moment for the water to boil," she said. I was quite alright with that; it gave me more time to try and talk to her.

"Well, while we wait," I said, "anything on your mind?" If I was lucky, that'd get her to talk about the bird. If not, it still sounded like a normal conversational thing to say.

"Mm," she said dismissively. "A few things." Before I could press her further, though, she turned back to the cup – which was now steaming – and said "Oh, it's all done!"

I watched with a bit of impatience as she fiddled around some more, then brought me a cup of tea and set it on the table. Set it on the… cracked nearly in half… sloping towards the middle… table. I nervously eyed the cup, ready to catch it if it started sliding. Surprisingly, though, it managed to stay in place.

"Careful, it's hot," she warned me. That was fine; I wasn't here for tea anyway.

I turned back towards her and said "Alright. So, uh…"

"It's not THAT hot!" she interrupted. "Just drink it already!"

Well, if she really wanted me to, I saw no reason to refuse. I grabbed the teacup, brought it to my lips, and gulped the contents down.

The scalding tea ravaged its way down my throat. Burning pain filled my mouth and my eyes went wide with shock. My tongue felt like someone had set it aflame. I regretted my decision instantly.

"Uh…" she stammered, staring down at me. "It's not THAT cold either. But, uh… other than that, pretty good, right?"

I held up a finger as if to say _One moment!_ as I tried to recover from the shock. "Uh… yeah," I finally said, though in truth, the temperature masked the taste too much for me to make any judgements.

"Well, nothing but the best for my ABSOLUTELY PRECIOUS FRIEND!" I could tell she was slipping. She'd said that in a rather mocking tone.

For a few moments after that, she didn't say anything, and I was still a bit too stunned to start anything myself. And so, for that brief time, an awkward silence reigned in the room.

Finally, she broke it. "Hey… you know, it's kind of strange you chose THAT tea."

"What do you mean?" I asked her, one eyebrow raised. Any excuse to start a conversation was good right now, and besides, that had actually somewhat piqued my curiosity.

"Golden flower tea…" she muttered. "That's Asgore's favorite kind."

"It is? Huh," I said, my interest not entirely feigned. Now that I thought about it, I supposed the taste was somewhat familiar.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Actually, now that I think about it, you kind of remind me of him."

"Is that so?" I chuckled, feeling sweat on my forehead. That was worrying, but it was probably OK. She was just seeing a resemblance. It didn't mean she knew who I was… at least, it probably didn't…

"Uh-huh. You're both TOTAL weenies!" she yelled. I chuckled a bit at that. It was as good a description of the king as I'd ever heard, even if I didn't appreciate it being applied to myself.

"…sort of," she finished, in a much more serious tone.

Awkward silence. Again.

"You know, I was a pretty hotheaded kid," she finally said. That _was_ seemed suspect, but I didn't say anything.

"Once, to prove I was the strongest, I tried to fight Asgore," she said. "Emphasis on TRIED. I couldn't land a single blow on him!"

"Hm. Really?" I asked in a surprised tone. I wasn't faking it. "You seemed really strong to me."

"Heh. Thanks," she said, a bit awkwardly. "But, you know. I was a kid back then."

"Mm," I assented. She was right, I supposed. Of course, being a kid had never stopped me, but I had the resets. It was hardly a fair comparison.

"Oh yeah, and worse," she continued, "the whole time, he refused to fight back! I was so humiliated…"

"Afterwards, he apologized and said something goofy…" she said. ""Excuse me, do you want to know how to beat me?"" It was a pretty bad imitation of the king's voice.

"I said yes," she continued, "and from then on, he trained me. One day, during practice, I finally knocked him down. I felt…" She hesitated for a moment, as if unsure how to say what she wanted to say. "Bad."

My mind turned, briefly, towards the incident with the monster kid. I felt like I understood what she felt, at least a bit.

"But he was beaming…" she barreled on, oblivious to my memories. "I had never seen someone more proud to get their butt kicked. Anyway, long story short, he kept training me, and now I'm the head of the Royal Guard! So I'm the one who gets to train dorks to fight! …like, uh, Papyrus."

I just nodded along, expecting her to continue talking. She didn't, though. In fact, she looked rather glum, which struck me as quite unusual. For a moment I pondered saying something, but… no. It was probably a bad idea.

Finally, she spoke again. "But, um, to be honest… I don't know if I can ever let Papyrus into the Royal Guard." Her eyes went wide, just for a second. "Don't tell him I said that!" she quickly added. Yet again, I nodded.

"He's just… well…" There was a tinge of sadness to her voice. "I mean, it's not that he's weak. He's actually pretty freaking tough!"

I struggled not to roll my eyes.

"It's just that… he's…" She didn't seem entirely sure what to say. Finally, she blurted out "He's too innocent and nice! I mean, look, he was SUPPOSED to capture you, and he ended up being FRIENDS with you instead! I could NEVER send him into battle! He'd get ripped into little smiling shreds."

For a moment, she looked to the side. "And especially now…" she mused in a somewhat worried tone.

Something clicked in my mind. Yes! This was my chance! Just gotta not blow it.

"Hm?" I asked. It was a nice starter – interrogative enough that she probably wouldn't just ignore it, but not so much that she'd be upset.

"Eh?" She snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, never mind that."

"What were you talking about just now?" I tried my best to make my tone casual. It wouldn't do to have her feeling interrogated.

"There's just been a couple odd things around lately."

"Like what?"

"Well," she said, "there's some… suspicious monsters I spotted."

Yeah, that much I alre-

Wait. Monsters? Plural?

"What were they like?" I asked, trying not to sound too excited.

"One of them was a bird," she said. "The other looked like some sort of knight."

"Huh," I said. A knight monster? I'd met a few of those, but why would she consider any of them suspicious? "Why were they suspicious?"

"Well, I've never seen either of them before," she said. "And I know EVERYONE in the Underground."

So they'd appeared in the Underground recently. I'd suspected as much, but it was nice to have confirmation.

"You're sure?" I asked.

"Well, no, now that I think about it– OF COURSE I'M SURE!" she yelled. "I don't just not notice monsters!"

I nodded. "Of course. It was silly of me to ask." That was it. Stroke her ego a bit.

She snorted. "Ya think?"

"Again, I apologize," I said. "Although, could you tell me anything else about them?"

"Seemed pretty darn strong," she said. "I mean, I've never seen them fight, but… you know, it's just this… feeling. Like they're not something you mess with."

As expected. "Anything else?"

She thought for a moment. "No. Not really."

"Really?" I pressed. "Nothing at all?"

"What? You think they're just going around shouting their evil plans at people?"

"W-well…" I stumbled for a moment. "No, but I'm sure you must've noticed something, right?"

"Ugh!" she grumbled. "No, I didn't! Why are you so sure, any-"

Her eyes lit up with understanding. "Waaaait," she said, leaning towards me. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Uh." My façade was cracking, now. "…no…"

"Argh!" she shouted. "I should've known! Of course I couldn't trust a human!"

"Erm. No, I…" No. No, I couldn't save this. "Alright. Fine."

"Why are you REALLY here?!" she barked.

"Well, I just needed some information," I answered, simply. Not much reason to lie, now.

She hissed at me. "Get out of my house!" A spear appeared in her hand.

"Very well," I said, and calmly as always stood up and turned towards the door. But I couldn't resist getting one last shot at her. So, as I stood on the threshold of the house, I turned back to face her, bowed deeply, and said with a mocking sweetness in my voice "And thank you. You've been very informative."

Before I shut the door, I heard two last words from her. "OH YOU-!"


	10. A New Face

**AN:**

 **offbrandbiscui** **t** : Well, thank you! I hope you enjoy this one just as much.

* * *

Hotland lived up to its name.

As I stepped onto the red rocks once more, blistering heat hit me head on. With how many runs I'd had to get used to it, I could bear it, but I sure as hell didn't like it.

By the time I'd finished the short walk to the lab, sweat was already pooling on my forehead. Fortunately, I knew it was colder inside. I sped up to a sprint as the sliding doors started to open and quickly ran into the building.

It was a relief to be away from the heat. Of course, I knew I'd still have to endure it for quite a long time after I left, but at least I could catch a break.

The lab was a bit dimmer than in my previous runs, but I could still see well enough. I began walking forwards, only casting a passing glance at the screen showing my every movement. It still struck me as weird, even after seeing it over and over again. Why was it even there?

After a bit, a monster that looked like a lizard in a lab coat stepped out of a door to my left and walked ahead of me. A memory of the robot mentioning something about a doctor flashed through my mind. This would be her, then.

"Oh. My god," she said, her face a perfect picture of shock. "I didn't expect you to show up so soon!"

"I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, it's all messy, and…" Her words tumbled breathlessly out of her mouth. "Ummm… H-h-hiya! I'm Dr. Alphys. I'm Asgore's royal scientist!"

Royal scientist? Interesting. Perhaps she could tell me something about the bird.

"B-b-but, ahhhh, I'm not one of the "bad guys"!" she yelled frantically. "Actually, since you've stepped out of the Ruins, I've, um…"

Everything fell into place. "Been watching me?" I asked reproachingly, my arms folded across my chest.

"U-uh! Ye-yeah…" she stammered. "Y-you knew?"

I indicated the large screen behind me with a wave of my hand.

"O-oh. Yeah…" She cringed a bit. "W-well… I, uh… I was originally going to stop you, but, uh… watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them. S-so, ahhh, now I want to help you!"

I pursed my lips. So apparently, spying was OK as long as you helped the person afterwards? Wasn't sure I approved.

"Uh, um…" she stammered out as she looked away from my face, sweat running down her brow. "I, I mean, I know it was wrong, but… uh… I, I still want to help you! Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you through Hotland!"

"How about you just stay well out of my business instead?"

"No! I, uh…" She took a few steps away from me. "L-look, I'm-I'm sorry I was, uh… watching you, but… uh, well…"

I tapped my foot on the floor impatiently.

"I, uh, I just want to help you get through Hotland!" she said frantically. "I-I know a way right to Asgore's castle!"

I clasped my hands in front of me, barely managing to contain my anger. "Hey. How about you tell me something?"

"Uh, w-what?" she nervously asked.

"You've been watching me all this time, right?" I glared daggers at her. "Have I needed any help so far?"

"U-uh! I, well, you, uh, er…" she whimpered. "I, uh, n-not r-really, but…"

"THEN WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I NEED IT NOW?!" I shouted, stomping my foot on the ground. Her high-pitched yelp barely reached my ears. "Especially from someone who spied on me!"

"L-look, I, uh!" she scrambled to defend herself. "I, I just, it's, uh, there's, there's a bit of an issue! I, uh… Look, I, uh, made a, uh, robot named Mettaton. And, uh…"

God, I hated her already. "And?! Get to the point!"

"Well, it's just, uh, I, uh, recently decided to make him more useful," she said. "And, uh, I, er… gave him… a few new features, like… uh…" Her voice trailed off as she met my gaze.

"What is it?" I asked, exasperated. Why was getting anything out of people always so hard?

She stared at the ground. "It's, er… anti… anti-human… combat features…"

I stared at her for a few moments, then slowly shook my head. "Anti-human combat features. Anti. Human. Combat. Features."

She quietly whimpered something under her breath.

"You know…" I lazily continued. "That really doesn't fill me with confidence as far as trusting you goes."

"Uh, um, erm…" she stuttered out. "I-I'm sorry… but… er… I…" Her voice trailed away into nothingness, and she cowered in front of me.

I stared at her sternly. Now that my rage was cooling off, though, an odd mixture of feelings welled up inside me. Yes, it felt good to see her cower before me, to have this kind of power over her… but why did it feel so wrong at the same time? It felt like this wasn't right, like I was doing something I shouldn't be…

Ah well. Logically, there was no reason not to accept her help anyway – it was only my pride that made me unwilling. And I'd thrown that away more than a few times already.

In a somewhat gentler voice, I said "Oh, alright. I'll take your help."

She stared at me blankly for a few seconds before coming to her senses. "Oh! Oh, uh… thank you! I'll be sure to, uh-"

And all of a sudden, a metallic clang cut through the air as the building shook.

It was just a small jolt, nothing major. Still, I could see her come close to losing her balance.

Another jolt came soon after, the same sound accompanying it. It still wasn't too bad, although this time, she almost fell off her feet. I swiveled my head around to look for the source.

"Alright, what's go-" I started to ask her, only to be interrupted by another jolt. And another, and another. I lost my balance from the shocks and started to fall, but I caught myself and managed to quickly get back on my feet. As I did, I noticed that, to my surprise, the lizard had managed to stay up as well.

Her eyes went wide with dread. "Oh no."

"Wai-" I began, but an unimaginably loud crash drowned out my words completely. The room went dark suddenly, and I found myself unable to see even my own hands.

"OHHHH YES!" a metallic voice announced. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES…"

The voice paused dramatically, and a light shined from somewhere on high. It fell right on the speaker – the same robot I'd seen in this lab in my previous runs.

"…TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!" it finished.

The room lit up slightly, just enough that I could see. At the same time, disco lights appeared from the ceiling and a brief rain of confetti fell from a mysterious source. A few pieces landed on me, and I brushed them off irately. "What in the world…?" was all I could manage to say.

"OH BOY!" the robot yelled. "I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT!"

Another rain of confetti came down, this time right on top of me. I stared blankly at the robot for a few seconds before realizing the confetti was now covering me. I shook it off.

"NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, GORGEOUS?" he asked, clearly addressing the question to me.

"Uh, th- uh-" I stuttered out. This was just far too overwhelming.

"NO PROBLEM!" he reassured. "IT'S SIMPLE! THERE' S ONLY ONE RULE. ANSWER CORRECTLY… OR YOU DIE!"

I couldn't help but think I'd rather die.

"So… so let me get this straight," I said. "Your plan is to make me do a quiz?"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" he shouted. "NOW HOW ABO-"

"Go to hell."

I turned and walked away.

Suddenly, something unlike anything I'd felt in my previous runs hit me from behind, forcing me to my knees. Dimly, I realized it was an electric shock.

I grit my teeth, managing not to scream. Mercifully, the electricity subsided fairly quickly.

"TSK, TSK!" the robot admonished. "I'M SORRY, BUT I'M AFRAID WE SIMPLY CAN'T HAVE THAT."

I glared at him, still kneeling on the floor, with hate in my eyes.

"NOW…" he continued. "HOW ABOUT WE START THE SHOW?"

I shakily stood up and growled at him.

"ALRIGHTY THEN!" he cheerfully yelled. "LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!"

The robot slid over to the side, and a holographic display appeared where he was standing. It read "What's the prize for answering correctly?"

At the same time, a panel – seemingly made with the same technology – appeared in front of me, listing four answers. They were "Money", "Mercy", "New car", and "More questions". In addition, there was also a timer ticking down in its middle.

I was entirely unamused.

My gaze shifted from the panel over to the robot. "Are you messing with me?"

He said nothing, only thrust his hand in my direction. I flung myself to the side, but the beam of electricity hit me anyway, eliciting a panicked scream from the lizard. It tore through my body, and I could feel my muscles convulsing in response to the shock. The pain, I thought, would've been excruciating to most people. My many runs' worth of experience came in handy, though – pain was something I was used to, and it'd take more than that to get a response from me. I felt a small surge of pride at the thought.

Still, I thought as the electricity stopped, that couldn't have been good for me. The smell of burnt flesh wafted up to my nose, and I could feel just where it was coming from. And unfortunately, in my arrogance, I'd neglected to pick up any food except for the pie, and using that now would be a waste.

So, with no other options, I just dusted myself off and dragged myself back to my feet.

"WRONG ANSWER!" the robot announced.

"I figured that was what you were trying to say when you zapped me," I snarked at him.

"YOU'RE RIGHT!" he said. "HERE'S YOUR TERIFFIC PRIZE!"

He slid over to the side again. This time, the holographic display read "What's the king's full name?", and the answers that appeared in front of me were "Lord Fluffybuns", "Fuzzy Pushover", "Asgore Dreemurr", and "Dr. Friendship".

I had a choice to make. Either I had to not only indulge, but cooperate with the utter inanity that was this robot's quiz, or I had to suffer a lot of very painful shocks.

At the end of the day, option 2 would probably hurt less.

I turned to the robot and said "Seriously. Go to hell with your bloody quiz."

His hand shot towards me again, and again, I tried to fling myself out of the way. The electricity hit me anyway, though. Once again, it ravaged my body, and I ended up twitching around like a fish out of water.

It had been even worse this time. When it finally ceased, though, I just stood right back up. Nothing else to do.

"HEY NOW!" he yelled. "THIS IS A FAMILY-FRIENDLY SHOW!"

"Sure. Whatever." I rolled my eyes. "Can we just get this over with?"

"VERY WELL, THEN!" he shouted, and wheeled over to the side yet again.

As expected, another question appeared. It read "What are robots made of?" This time, I didn't even bother looking at the answers, nor did I deign to give the robot a piece of my mind again. Instead, with nothing to do but wait for the timer to tick down, I passed my glance over the lab, just in case something was different this time around. It looked much the same as in my previous runs, though.

Although, I did notice the lizard frantically making some hand gestures at me off to the side. After a moment of trying to parse her gesticulating, I realized that her hands were in a shape somewhat resembling the letter B. Glancing down, I saw that answer B on the panel was "Metal & Magic", which seemed correct to me.

I nodded at her, just to indicate that I acknowledged her effort. The thought was appreciated, even if I didn't intend to actually use her help.

A moment later, the shock hit me.

This one hurt even more. I fell to the ground instantly, feeling the bite of the electricity ripping through me. My eyes went wide as the pain hit me in full force, but I still managed not to scream. Good. I wasn't planning to give this damned machine the satisfaction.

"WRONG!" he shouted again, even though I hadn't said anything. "WELL, HERE'S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU!"

For the fourth time now, he went over to the side. This time, the question was some sort of incredibly long mathematical problem. Okay, now he really was just messing with me.

I cast a quick glance at the lizard, just out of curiosity as to whether or not she knew the answer. Apparently, she did – and instantly, in fact. Hm.

Wasn't the time to dwell on it, though. Instead, I stared at the robot, unflinching, bracing myself for the pain of the shock. After all, I still sure as hell wasn't planning to give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

Somewhat nervously, I watched the timer tick down out of the corner of my eye. Three… two… one…

The electricity hit me, even worse still, but this time, I was prepared. As it coursed through me, I grit my teeth in a fierce determination. I was going to push through this pain; I was going to let him know he couldn't do a thing to me; and more than anything, I wasn't going to show even a hint of weakness.

It hurt. It hurt like hell. But I hadn't beaten the comedian by being scared of a little pain.

I felt the shock tear through my body. I felt it scorch my flesh mercilessly as it went. But I would not break. No matter what.

And I didn't. I didn't scream. I didn't even fall to the floor, this time.

I glowered at the robot, even as cold satisfaction welled up within me. It didn't matter what he did to me. There was no way he could force me to participate in this.

"Alright, robot," I said. There was anger in my voice, but a certain condescension too. "What next?!"

"NEXT, IT'S TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS!" he announced, but I could swear there was a bit less enthusiasm in his voice now.

The question read "In the dating simulation video game "Mew Mew Kissy Cutie" what is Mew Mew's favorite food?" I narrowed my eyes. When I'd seen the previous question, I'd thought it'd be the height of this quiz's stupidity. Clearly, I was wrong.

Somehow, though, being able to take that last shock so well made the future ones seem less scary. After all, if even that one didn't break me, why would any of the other ones? Now, it was just a test of pati-

"OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE!" the lizard suddenly piped up, waving her arms wildly in the air. My bewildered gaze snapped to her. "IT'S SNAIL ICE CREAM! IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER EVERYONE GOES TO THE BEACH! AND SHE BUYS ICE CREAM FOR ALL OF HER FRIENDS! BUT IT'S SNAIL FLAVOR AND SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS IT! IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THE GAME BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY A VERY POWERFUL message about…"

Her gaze darted around the lab for a moment, as if she was only now becoming aware that both I and the robot were staring at her like she was crazy.

"Friendship… and…" She let the words hang in the air.

The silence was unbroken for a few moments. Unfortunately, the lack of any distractions was making the pain from all the zapping harder to ignore, so I spoke first. "Doctor, may I offer some constructive criticism?"

"Uh… y-yes?" she nervously responded.

"You're an idiot."

She looked down at the floor, her face red and covered in sweat.

"ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS," the robot chastised. "YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANT, ARE YOU?"

The lizard shook her head frantically, but the robot just barreled on. "OOOOOH! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO!"

Even before the question appeared, the lizard's hands flew up to her mouth and she stared at me with wide, pleading eyes.

The question was "Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on?" I giggled at it a bit.

This time, I actually looked down at the answers. They were "Undyne", "Asgore", "The human" – I felt myself going a bit red at that one – and "Don't know".

I turned to the lizard, a smirk on my face. "Well? You know the answer, right?"

"U-uh-ah…" she stammered. A newfound liking for the robot blossomed inside me.

Again, I glanced down at the answers. I was torn. Part of me refused to answer even this question, just on principle. The other part of me was already trying to figure out which answer would be funniest.

Suddenly, however, I noticed that the timer wasn't going down. It was an attempt to force me to answer. That, I didn't appreciate. I felt my rage at the robot rising back up to the surface.

"Never mind," I said. "I'm not answering this."

"I'M AFRAID WE CA-" he started.

"No," I said firmly. "I've had enough of your endless blather. What are you? Just a bloody metallic box with nothing better to do than torture people with your idiotic quiz? If you want to fight, then fight. If you don't, then shut up, get the hell out of here, and go back into the hole you crawled out of. And don't you dare stand in my way."

For a moment, he was actually speechless. Then, he finally said "…WELL WELL WELL. WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU, THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS!"

Yeah. That was why he was stopping. Right.

"BUT. BUT!" he continued. "THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA! MORE ROMANCE! MORE BLOODSHED! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS…!"

His wheel and arms retracted into his body, leaving behind naught but a metal box. Then, a jet erupted from the box's underside, and the robot quite literally flew through the ceiling.

"…Well that was certainly something," the lizard awkwardly said, turning to face me.

"Gee, ya think?" I said, still maintaining an air of confidence. But now that the robot wasn't here and I didn't have him to focus my fury on, I was really starting to feel the pain. All the burns I'd got felt like there was a hot iron on them. For a few moments more, I was able to keep up the image with no slip-ups except for a few groans, but it couldn't last. I fell to my knees.

"O-oh!" the lizard shouted, rushing over to me. "A-are you okay?!"

I waved her away, and she took a few steps back. "Yeah, I'm fine." It was something of a lie – I really was hurting a lot. But I could take care of it myself.

My fingers fumbled around in my pocket for a while before they came across what I'd been looking for. A small slice of butterscotch pie, from way back at the start of this run. I pulled it out and brought it to my mouth. Perhaps it was a waste, but I didn't think I could do much like this.

I devoured it quickly. The effect was just as quick – every time I swallowed a piece, I instantly felt a pleasant feeling flow through my body. In mere moments, all my burns disappeared, as did all the pain. After what I'd just been through, it was heavenly, and I breathed a small sigh of relief at the sensation.

Now that the pain wasn't an issue anymore, I stood up and walked around the lizard to the end of the lab. Felt nice to be able to do that so easily.

"Wait, wait!" she yelled from behind me, and I heard the frantic pitter-patter of her feet on the floor approaching. I turned just in time to see her barely manage not to crash into me. "Let me give you my ph-phone number!"

I shrugged.

"Th-then… m-maybe…" she stammered, hesitantly. "If you need help, I could…"

Might as well, I supposed. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, but froze just as I started pulling it out. The lizard's eyes were wide open in shock, and she was staring at my phone.

"Uh… what's wrong?" I asked, a little awkwardly, and began slowly putting my phone back into my pocket.

"Wh-where'd you get that phone?!" she yelled. "It's ANCIENT!"

I pulled my phone the rest of the way out and examined it critically. "Well, it works well enough for my purposes," I shrugged.

"Wh- bu-" the lizard stammered. She seemed personally insulted. "It doesn't even have texting!"

With a surprisingly fast motion, she snatched the phone out of my hand. "W-wait a second, please!"

She ran off, and I stared after her, my mouth slightly open in shock. Then she put it down on her cluttered table, and I realized what she was planning to do. "No, you really don't need to-" I started, but she was already messing around with it. I just sighed.

Whatever, exactly, she was doing, it didn't take long. Just a couple seconds later, she was running back towards me, my phone clutched like a child in her arms. "Here, I upgraded it for you!" she breathlessly announced, shoving it into my hands. I fumbled with it for a moment and nearly dropped it, but I managed to catch it and put it back into my pocket.

"It can do texting, items, it's got a key chain…" She rattled off the list excitedly. "I even signed you up for the Underground's No. 1 social network!"

"Thanks," I said.

"Y-you're welcome!" she said. "Now we're officially friends! Ehehehe! Heheh… heh…"

Her eyes darted around the room wildly, sweat on her forehead. With her already in that state, I didn't correct her. I just… couldn't.

"Wait," I said, interrupting her panicking. "Can you just tell me one more thing?"

"O-oh!" She flinched, startled. "Oh, uh… y-yeah! W-what is it?"

There was a question I thought she might have an answer to, but first, I needed to make sure of one thing. "First, can you just… promise me you won't ask why I want to know this?"

She looked markedly more nervous, but I doubted she'd say no. "Um…" she stammered. "…a-alright…"

"Hypothetically," I started, "is there any special way for a monster to become incredibly powerful?"

"W-what?" she asked, her eyes darting to the side. "W-well… I, uh, I guess some monsters just… are just more powerful, by, uh, nature…"

I nodded. That'd be the comedian. But I didn't think that explanation sufficed for the bird. "I know. But besides that?"

"Um, well…" she stammered. "N-no, I don't think so…"

And then, just for a moment, I saw cogs turning in her head. Then, she quietly muttered "Well, I guess… but…"

"What is it?" I asked.

"N-no…" She shook her head. "T-there's, uh, no way that could happen."

"Well, still. What is it?" As I said that, I realized I was doing it wrong. Going too harsh here would just make her too nervous to say anything. Instead, I softened my voice and said "Please. I really need to know."

She looked to the side, clearly uncomfortable.

"Well," she said, "I guess, maybe, if they absorbed a human soul…"


	11. And A Familiar One

**AN:**

 **offbrandbiscuit** : Ohhh... oh, I am sorry.

* * *

I mulled over the lizard's words as I traversed Hotland. Hotland, of course, was hardly the best place for mulling, but even if I did accidentally stumble into some lava, it'd hardly be a big deal.. Besides, at least I was relatively undisturbed here, and there wasn't too much I had to worry about – the only puzzles so far were ones I was used to from my previous runs, and I'd only had to make one, tiny detour. I'd had to grab a frying pan that was lying around the place; it served as a weapon.

As I walked, I gave the pan a few test swings. It made a satisfying _whoosh_ as it cut through the air. Not as good as the knife, but definitely better than all the excuses for weapons I'd had to take before.

But… hmm. A human soul? That seemed plain silly. Where would the bird even get one? It's not like there were human souls just lying around the Underground, and I doubted he could've stolen one out from under the king's nose.

Yeah. No matter which way I looked at it, it seemed impossible. Was I just getting too caught up on what the lizard said? After all, I still had no confirmation one way or another. It was entirely possible he had some completely different power source. But then, what was it?

Confound it all. I'd spent so long being so sure that I knew it all, and now there was something I couldn't figure out for the life of me.

As I walked, I saw something that wasn't there in my previous runs. Several lasers – some orange, some blue – blocked my way. The blue ones were moving, and I could only assume they worked like blue attacks. The orange ones were still, and as for how they worked… well, who knew. Fortunately, I could try as many times as I wanted, so I was bound to figure it out eventually.

My phone rang. I answered it.

"Uhh!" The lizard's nervous voice sounded through the speaker. "H-hi, so, the blue lasers…"

"Slow down," I said.

"Oh, uhh… right! Uh, Alphys here!" she said. "Hi!"

"Hello."

"Alright, uh… the blue lasers won't hurt you if you don't move!" she said. "O-orange ones, um…"

She paused for a moment. "Y-you have to be moving, and they… um, they won't um…"

"Hurt me," I finished for her with a nod. She couldn't see it, of course, but I nodded anyways. "Got it."

"No!" she squeaked. "Um, I mean, uh, yes! Er, I mean… uh… bye!"

I stuffed the phone back into my pocket. What was WITH this lizard? I'd honestly rather deal with the skeleton. Or the comedian. Or the fish. Or literally anyone else.

Well, at least I had something now. She hadn't made it too clear what the orange ones did, admittedly, but it was good enough. Besides, it wasn't like getting it wrong would have any consequences. So I might die – so what? I'd died plenty of times before.

I stepped through the first two orange lasers. An odd sensation passed over me, but I was unharmed. A blue laser was next, so I stopped for a moment, let it pass through me, and then walked onwards.

The rest of the laser hallway wasn't any harder to get through. It was just a matter of knowing the rules. At the end of it, I noticed a switch set in the wall. I pressed it – might as well – and the lasers shut down. Convenient.

I proceeded onwards through Hotland. Soon, though, my phone rang again.

"A-A-Alphys here!" the lizard stuttered. "Th… the northern door will stay locked until you… s-solve the puzzles on the right and left!"

Huh. That was actually good to know. "Got it. Thanks," I said.

"Oh! R-really?" she stammered, a note of disbelief in her voice. "Uh… I think you should go to the right first!" She seemed a bit more confident now. Not much, but it was better than before.

As she'd said, the door to the north was locked, and there were puzzles to the left and right. It took a bit of time to solve them, especially the one on the left, but it wasn't too bad. The only real problem that arose was a blue laser that blocked the way to the left, but the lizard helped me out with that.

After I was done with the puzzles and past the door, she called again to try and explain the puzzles. Of course, since I'd already completed them, it was pointless, and somewhat annoying. Well, at least she'd tried.

Soon after, I entered a very, very dark room. I didn't remember anything like it in my previous runs. That was when she called me again.

"H-hey, it's kind of dark in there, isn't it?" she said. "Don't worry! I'll hack into the light system and brighten it up!"

Suddenly, the room filled with light. It blinded me for a moment, but after a bit of frantic blinking, I could see again. Now that I actually saw the room, I recognized it, though it was always lit up from the start in my previous runs.

For a moment, nothing happened. And then…

"Oh no," the lizard said.

The robot from before rose up from under the counter. "OHHH YES!" he announced.

"You again," I said, turning to face him. "What is it now?"

But he just talked over me. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW!"

"What."

"PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY!" he yelled. Did he even realize I was speaking?

Yeah, there was no way I was participating in this. I walked around him and towards the edge of the makeshift kitchen, intending to leave. When I approached the exit, though, a bolt of electricity crackled in front of me. As I came closer, more and more appeared, until they formed a wall that blocked off my way out. I stopped just in time to avoid being incinerated.

"WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING A CAKE!" I heard him say from behind. Somehow, I doubted it was as benign as that. "MY LOVELY ASSISTANT HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS. EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!"

A rain of confetti fell onto me. "I never agreed to this…" I grumbled under my breath.

"WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK AND EGGS," the robot said. "GO FOR IT, SWEETHEART!"

First, I tried the other exit. Same electrical forcefield. Of course.

Then, I tried to see if there was a way to climb out of the room somehow – it didn't have a ceiling, after all. But there wasn't.

Then, I tried to inch behind the cardboard cutout that was pretending to be a wall. I succeeded at that. Unfortunately, doing that wasn't any help at finding a way to escape.

No way out, then. Just damn it all.

Struggling to hold on to my dignity, I grabbed the milk, sugar and eggs from the table on the other side of the room and brought them over to the robot.

"PERFECT! GREAT JOB, BEAUTIFUL!" the robot said.

"Don't call me that…"

"WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE THE CAKE! MILK… SUGAR… EGGS…" He listed the ingredients off slowly. "OH MY! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!"

He brought up a chainsaw. "A HUMAN SOUL!"

Of course.

Well, damn. My routes of escape were blocked. I doubted I could reason with a robot. And I certainly couldn't hope to win by attrition. At first glance, I was doomed.

A phone rang, but it wasn't mine. Instead, the robot pulled out his own phone. "HELLO…?" he said. "I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE."

"W-wait a second!" I heard the lizard say. "Couldn't you make a…. couldn't you use a…"

My face sunk into my palm. As much as I needed some way out of this, seeing her try to do something was just painful.

"Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe?!" she finally asked.

"…A SUBSTITUTION?" the robot asked. "YOU MEAN, USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT? WHY?"

"Uhhh, what if someone's…" the lizard said, and paused for a moment. "Vegan?"

"…VEGAN," the robot repeated.

"Uh well I mean-" the lizard stammered.

"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS! ACTUALLY, I HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE!"

Huh. She was actually proving surprisingly helpful. That was more than I could say for anyone else.

"MTT-BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOR-SUBSTITUTE!" he announced. I found myself wondering what human souls tasted like. "A CAN OF WHICH… IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!" He indicated a counter with a wave of his hand. I raised an eyebrow – the counter was beyond the forcefield. How would he get to it?

"WELL, DARLING? WHY DON'T YOU GO GET IT?" he asked.

"Well…" I said, walking over to the edge of the kitchen, intending to point the forcefield out. When I got there, though, it was gone. "Oh."

With the forcefield no longer being an obstacle, I walked towards the counter.

And walked right past it.

"NOW WHERE WOULD YOU BE GOING, BEAUTIFUL?" the robot asked. I turned around. He was still in the kitchen. Good.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the lizard's number. "Hey."

"Oh, uh- hi...?" she stammered.

"Hey, you've got some control over the technology here, right?" I asked.

"Well… ye-"

"Mind reactivating that forcefield?" A devilish smile danced over my face.

"NOW NOW…" the robot said, waggling his finger – insofar as he had one – at me.

"Huh?" the lizard asked. "Oh, uh… sure!"

"Thanks," I said, and hung up. A moment later, I saw the forcefield spring to life once again.

I turned back to the robot, smirking. The forcefield he'd just used a moment ago to trap me now worked against him.

"OH YOU…" he growled. It was the first time I'd seen him agitated.

"Oh, don't worry," I cheerfully told him. "Now, you've got a recurring villain! Just think how much drama that'll bring! Well…" I smirked. "If you can get out of here, that is."

With that parting shot, I turned and walked away.

Just as I was doing that, my phone rang again.

"Wow!" the lizard said. "We… we did it! We… we really did it!"

"Hell yeah," I said, a grin on my face. I was rather elated after that.

"Great job, team!" she yelled. "A-although, uh…"

"Mm?"

"I, uh…" she stammered. "I think Mettaton can disable those forcefields, too. But it'll take him a while!" she hastily added. "B-but, uh… let's keep heading forward, OK?"

"Uh-huh," I nodded, and hung up. Then, I continued onwards.

Soon after, my phone rang again, this time as I was passing the Core. The lizard explained briefly what it was and told me I had to go there. Nothing I didn't know yet.

I proceeded onward. On the way, I passed the comedian at some sort of stand, but he didn't bother me, so I just walked past him. After a bit, I turned left to grab a stained apron. It served as armor – I would never understand how that worked – and it was better than the glasses, so I put it on.

It took some more walking and puzzle-solving, during which the lizard called to announce that she'd be leaving for a bit, but eventually, I reached another dark room.

My phone rang. "Okay, I'm back!" the lizard said. "A-another dark room, huh? Don't worry! My hacking skills have got things covered!"

The room lit up. Like before, the sudden light blinded me for a moment. When I could see again, I found that this room was much like all the other rooms so far, although rather big.

"Are you serious?" the lizard said in a half-annoyed, half-worried tone. I couldn't see why she was so put off, but I figured she had her reasons.

"OHHHHHH YESSS!" the robot announced, unseen. Ah. That would be why.

"GOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS!" MTT News? Really? How many shows did this robot run? "AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! FORTUNATELY, OUR CORRESPONDENT IS OUT THERE, REPORTING LIVE!"

So he was trying to sucker me into participating in his show again. And it'd probably end with him trying to kill me. Again.

Well, at least he didn't seem to be too upset about my stunt back then. Though on second thought, that wasn't so good. If he was, I'd at least have something to be smugly satisfied about.

"BRAVE CORRESPONDENT!" he said. "PLEASE FIND SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY TO REPORT! OUR TEN WONDERFUL VIEWERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!'

I sighed deeply, took out my phone, and dialed the lizard's number. "Hello again."

"Um… h-hi!" the lizard said. "Er… look, I, uh… sorry, but, uh… I can't disable the forcefields…"

"Forcefields?" I raised an eyebrow.

The lizard made a squeaking noise from the other side of the phone.

"Never mind," I said. "Can you just turn off this robot's speakers, at least? And whatever camera he's recording this with?"

"Uh-" the lizard stammered. "Oh, uh, yeah, yeah, I can!"

I said "Thanks," and hung up.

With that taken care of, I took to looking around the room. Immediately, I saw a basketball, a dog, a present, a movie script, a video game, and a glass of water. Quite the…. interesting… assortment, but I should've expected nothing less from the robot.

Before doing anything else, though, I walked over to the edge of the room. There was a forcefield. As expected.

With a quiet sigh, I walked over to the dog. It was the closest thing.

I inspected it with a critical eye. There was definitely something wrong with it. Like, for instance, the little black string sticking out of its tail.

For a moment, I squinted at the string, trying to work out what it was. And then, suddenly, it lit on fire.

I didn't even flinch. Normally, I would've been more surprised, but after what I've already been through with this robot, I just couldn't find it in me.

And, just as suddenly, the robot appeared from… somewhere. Again, at this point, it was more annoying than surprising.

"What. Do. You. Want?"

"OH MY!" the robot said. "IT TURNS OUT… THAT DOG IS A BOMB!'

"Seriously?" What was wrong with this bloody metal box?

"BUT DON'T GET TOO EXCITED YET!" he continued. "YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THE REST OF THIS ROOM YET! IT SEEMS EVERYTHING IN THIS AREA IS ACTUALLY A BOMB!"

"THAT PRESENT'S A BOMB!" he announced. "THAT BASKETBALL'S A BOMB! EVEN MY WORDS ARE…!"

Suddenly, several explosions rang out throughout the room.

"BRAVE CORRESPONDENT, IF YOU DON'T DEFUSE ALL OF THE BOMBS," he said, "THIS BIG BOMB WILL BLOW YOU TO SMITHEREENS IN TWO MINUTES! THEN YOU WON'T BE REPORTING "LIVE" ANY LONGER!" He flew up to and indicated a large pink bomb.

"HOW TERRIBLE! HOW DISTURBING!" he announced. "OUR NINE VIEWERS ARE GOING TO LOVE WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK, DARLING!"

Just damn it all.

My phone rang. Well, I supposed some help was exactly what I needed right now.

"D-don't worry!" the lizard's voice said from out of the speaker. "I installed a bomb-defusing program on your phone! Use the 'defuse' option when the bomb is in the defuse zone! N-now, go get 'em!"

"Bomb-defusing program?" I frowned. "Hold on, didn't he say only the big bomb was the problem?"

"Well, yeah…" the lizard said. "But you can stop it by defusing the other bombs!"

"Couldn't you just… defuse the big bomb?" I said with some confusion. "If you can give me a bomb-defusing program, I feel like you should be able to do it yourself…"

"H-huh? Oh, yeah!" she said. "I'll-I'll defuse it!"

She didn't hang up, but she did stop talking. A few moments later, I heard a mechanical click to the side.

"You got it?" I asked.

"Yep!" she announced. "Bomb's defused!"

"Nice," I said, and turned to the robot. But he didn't seem all that bothered.

"OH NO," he said, flatly. "IT SEEMS I'VE BEEN FOILED AGAIN. CURSE YOU, HUMAN! CURSE YOU, DR. ALPHYS, FOR HELPING SO MUCH! BUT I DON'T CURSE MY EIGHT WONDERFUL VIEWERS FOR TUNING IN! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLING!"

And with that, he flew away.

"W-wow…" the lizard said. "W-we really showed him, huh?"

"You know, I… I really think I'm getting more confident about guiding you!" she continued. "S-so don't worry about that b-big d-dumb robot… I-I'll protect you from him!"

"Yeah," I said, warmly. "Thanks."

"Y-you're welcome!" she said. Then, her voice dropped to a low mutter, and she continued "A-and if it really c-came down to it, we could just t-turn…"

And then, in a frantic rush, she cut herself off to say "Um, nevermind. Later!" and hung up.

I lowered the phone from my ear and looked at it quizzically for a moment. I was thankful for her help, but… that last part…

Was there something she wasn't telling me?

No, probably not. She hardly seemed like the type. I was just being paranoid.

I moved onwards, until eventually, I heard my phone ring again.

"Hey… uhhh…" the lizard said. "Are… are you worried about meeting Asgore?"

I shrugged and muttered a noncommittal "Ehhh…" into the phone. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it.

"W-well, don't worry, okay?" she said. "Th-the king is a really nice guy… I'm sure you can talk to him, and… W-with your human soul, you can pass through the barrier!"

I raised my eyebrow. That was… not true. Did she not know? I doubted it, coming from the royal scientist.

So then, was she lying to me? Why, though? Did she think she was protecting me by saying that?

Well, whatever the reason, I didn't appreciate being lied to. I didn't say anything, though. After all, how in the world was I supposed to explain to her how I knew this?

"S-so no worrying, OK?" she said. "J-just forget about it and smile." And with that, she hung up.

I didn't like that. I thought I could trust the lizard, and now she'd just lied to my face. She might've just been trying to help, but that wasn't the kind of help I wanted.

Well, nothing to do about it for now. Instead, I just went on my way.

The silver lining, at least, was that it took quite a while until I saw the robot again. As I proceeded, I solved a few puzzles, got a few innocuous calls from the lizard, and had a fight with a spider monster – quite a hard one, too, which I liked. And as all of that happened, the robot was nowhere to be seen.

Unfortunately, it seemed good things couldn't last forever. After a while, I ended up in a very blue room with a backdrop of a cityscape on the wall, and that was where I heard his voice again.

"COULD IT BE…?" he said, from somewhere above me. I looked up to find him peeking out from behind the backdrop, wearing a dress.

Oh god. I dreaded to even think what he had in mind this time.

"…MY ONE TRUE LOVE?"

My eyes went wide. "…I'm sorry, WHAT?"

The robot descended a set of stairs, lowering himself to my level. Then, as if what he'd already said wasn't bad enough, he started singing.

"OH MY LOVE," he said in what seemed to be supposed to be a melodic tone. "PLEASE RUN AWAY…"

I tuned out the rest of that lunacy.

Instead, I set about looking around the room. The immediately obvious exits were, of course, sealed with forcefields, but I wasn't going to give up. There had to be some way out of this. There HAD to be.

…right?

But unfortunately, I didn't find one. I kept looking, though, because at least it distracted me from the singing.

And then, suddenly, a trapdoor opened up underneath my feet.

I fell briefly before landing on a rocky platform. The robot floated down after me.

"OH NO! WHATEVER SHALL I DO?" he said. "MY LOVE HAS BEEN CAST AWAY INTO THE DUNGEON. A DUNGEON WITH A PUZZLE SO DASTARDLY, MY PARAMOUR WILL SURELY PERISH!"

"Paramour?!" I hissed, seething with rage.

"O, HEAVENS HAVE MERCY!" He just barreled on, completely oblivious. "THE HORRIBLE COLORED TILE MAZE!"

My eyes fell on the maze he was talking about. It was a large platform with tiles of various colors on it. It was also my only way past this room.

Why? Just why?

"EACH COLORED TILE HAS ITS OWN SADISTIC FUNCTION," the robot said. "FOR EXAMPLE, A GREEN TILE SOUNDS A NOISE, AND THEN YOU MUST FIGHT A MONSTER. RED TILES WILL… ACTUALLY, WAIT A SECOND."

"DIDN'T WE SEE THIS PUZZLE ABOUT A HUNDRED ROOMS AGO?" he wondered out loud. "THAT'S RIGHT. YOU REMEMBER ALL THE RULES, DON'T YOU?"

I didn't dignify that with an answer.

"GREAT… THEN I WON'T WASTE YOUR TIME REPEATING THEM!" he said.

"OH, AND YOU'D BETTER HURRY," he added. "BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IN 30 SECONDS…"

A wall of flame appeared on either side of the room. I just sighed. Really, it would've been more surprising if he didn't try to kill me.

"YOU'LL BE INCINERATED BY THESE JETS OF FIRE!" the robot announced. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHA… HA… HA! MY POOR LOVE! I'M SO FILLED WITH GRIEF, I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING! GOOD LUCK, DARLING!"

I gritted my teeth and pulled out my phone. But before I could call the lizard, a bolt of electricity flew from the robot's hand and shocked me, making me drop the phone. "I'M AFRAID THAT'S NOT ALLOWED!" he chastised, and picked up my phone from the ground.

Great. So I was stuck here, and I couldn't even ask the lizard for help.

I didn't even bother moving from my spot. I thought there was a good chance the lizard would save me anyways, and if not, what did it really matter? I'd died so many times before that one more wouldn't bother me. Besides, if there was even a slight chance I could avoid participating in this, I'd take it.

Eventually, after what I assumed must've been 30 seconds, the robot said "OOOOH, I'M SO SORRY! LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE OUT OF TIME!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes, you're going to kill me now. At least cut the chatter, would you?"

The flames approached me, but they stopped before reaching me. "ALRIGHT THEN! HERE COME THE FLAMES!" the robot announced.

Again, the flames came a bit closer. "THEY'RE CLOSING IN!"

"Please," I said, "just shut up."

Yet again, the flames got closer. Now, I could even feel their warmth on my skin. I was starting to have some second thoughts about how alright I was with this, but what was done was done.

"GETTING! CLO-"

"SHUT UP!" I yelled, cutting the robot off. He stopped talking.

The flames approached a bit more. It was starting to feel really, really hot. Right, this would be unpleasant… Well, nothing to do about it now. I mentally steeled myself.

For quite a while, they stayed there. Eventually, my phone rang. I turned towards it and realized that the robot had dropped it onto the ground at some point.

"Hey," I said, grabbing it and holding it to my ear. "Kind of in a… situation… right now."

"Um, I know!" the lizard said. "I'll save you! I'm hacking into the firewall right now!"

And with that, the flames vanished.

"OH NO!" the robot yelled. It sounded very fake. "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? FOILED AGAIN BY THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS!"

"That's right!" the lizard shouted. "Come on, Mettaton, give up already! You'll never be able to defeat us… Not as long as we work together! Your puzzle's over… now go home and leave us alone!"

Hm. For the lizard, that was a surprisingly good speech. And that fire had sure taken its sweet time. And the robot was sounding completely insincere…

The suspicion I'd had earlier rose up in my mind once more. I didn't know what was happening here, but I was pretty certain it was more than what met the eye.

"PUZZLE? OVER?" the robot said, quizzically. "ALPHYS, DARLING, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT…? DID YOU FORGET WHAT THE GREEN TILES DO? THEY MAKE A SOUND, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER."

"OK," I said. "I didn't step on any, so go to hell."

"WELL WELL WELL," he said. "YOU'RE RIGHT."

He paused for a moment. "…AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO DIE."

"THIS IS IT, DARLING!" he announced. My phone rang again.

"IS THAT YOUR PHONE?" he asked. "YOU'D BETTER ANSWER IT!"

I sighed. Didn't he say that wasn't allowed a while ago? Ah well. I answered the phone anyways. "Yes?"

"H-hey!" the lizard yelled. "Th-this seems bad, but don't worry! Th-there's one last thing I installed on your phone…! You see that yellow button…?"

I lowered my phone from my ear for a moment and took a peek at it before raising it up again. "Yep."

"Go to this phone's [[ACT]] menu and press it!" she instructed. I did so.

As I did, I felt my soul change color, and… something else happened too. It was somewhat disorienting. Well, only one way to figure out what it was…

There weren't many forms of magic a human could do. But there were a few, and even though I'd spent my life with the goats trying to ignore as many things as possible, I'd still picked up one little trick.

And so, I looked. I looked within myself, at the deepest part of my essence.

It wasn't a pleasant sensation. For a start, my eyeballs felt like they'd turned inside out, and that was the least odd of the sensations I felt. But I'd had quite a while to get used to it.

I saw a dark void, and in the middle of it, an upside-down yellow heart that cast a blinding light. My soul. So that was what had happened to it.

I let my concentration fade and snapped back to the outside world just in time to hear the lizard shout "Now press [[Z]]!"

I glanced down at my phone again and saw a _Z_ button. When I pressed it, I felt something odd in my soul – as if some kind of energy was being siphoned off it – and the phone fired a yellow projectile outward. It hit the robot, causing him to stagger slightly.

"OOOH!" he yelled. "OOOOOOOOOH! YOU'VE DEFEATED ME!"

"HOW CAN THIS BE, YOU WERE STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT, ETC." His voice had gone very flat. "WHATEVER."

And with that, he departed.

"L-looks like you beat him!" the lizard said. "Y-you did a really great job out there."

And then she just stopped talking. I waited a little. She still said nothing. I raised an eyebrow quizzically.

Finally, she spoke. "…umm, h-hey, this might sound strange, but… c-can I tell you something?"

"Go ahead," I said, nodding.

"B-before I met you, I d-didn't really… I didn't really like myself very much," she said. "For a long time, I f-felt like a total screw-up. L-like I couldn't do a-anything w-without… w-without ending up letting everyone down. B-but…! Guiding you has made me feel… A lot better about myself. So… thanks for letting me help you."

I didn't say anything. There was nothing I could say.

But a warmth rose up somewhere deep inside of me. And it felt good, good in a way I'd never quite felt in any of my previous runs.

"Uhhh, anyway," the lizard said, shooing the thoughts out of my head, "we're almost to the Core. It's just past MTT Resort."

MTT Resort. Of course that was a thing.

"Come on!" she yelled. "Let's finish this!"

"Yeah," I said, and hung up.

With an odd, reinvigorated feeling, I proceeded onwards. I walked up a set of stairs to a rocky platform, one devoid of anything except for a single monster standing just to the side.

The moment I saw him, I recoiled slightly, and turned to face him, my eyes wide.

"Why hello there," the bird said.


	12. By Sky Against Sea

I took a tentative step away from the bird. "Why are you here?"

"Come, now," he said, almost jovially. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

"Shut up and answer my question." Of all people, I was not going to let this bird boss me around.

"You're probably thinking something like _Oh, this bird isn't going to boss me around,_ are you?" he said, and I felt my face screw up at the accurate guess. "Well, I'd suggest you dial down the ego a bit. Because otherwise…" He let the words hang in the air.

"Otherwise what?" I asked. "You're going to pull six human souls out of nowhere?"

"Hm. And there's that single-mindedness again," he vacantly said, staring off into the distance.

"What do you mean?" I growled.

"Tsk," he chastised. "Always so, so foolish…"

I'd had about enough. I drew my pan. "Do you have anything worth saying," I barked, "or are you just here to spout vaguely important-sounding nonsense at me?"

He sighed. "Nonsense?"

"Sure sounds like nonsense to me." I tapped my pan against my palm. "If any of it was supposed to have a meaning, I'd love to hear it."

"Hmph," he grunted. "Listen here, child. You want to know something? Then shut up and listen."

"No," I said, automatically. "I'm not going to just be quiet and let you pour your idiocy into my ears. I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to ANSWER it. No more of your dancing around and avoiding everything. I am sick and tired of that, and I'm sure as hell not going to stand for it anymore."

The bird glared down at me. "You- you dare to-?!"

"So," I started, "why are you here?"

"Shut the hell up!" he shouted.

"Go to hell."

He growled at me for a moment. Then, his hand shot out with unnatural speed as he lunged forwards, and he grabbed me by my collar. "You think you're bloody clever, do you?" he said. His other hand was pointed at my temple and glowed with a dull yellow light.

"Hah!" I laughed. "What do you think you're going to do? Kill me? Like that's stopped me before."

Again, he growled, and the light in his hand grew brighter. His hand trembled, like he just couldn't wait to blast my head to pieces. But after a few moments, the light vanished suddenly.

"No," he said. "I'm going to tell you something." He waved his free hand, and what seemed like hundreds of yellow feathers appeared, a swirling tornado around us. They flowed to his back like moths to a flame, slowly forming into a pair of large wings. The wings flapped, an audible rush of air punctuating it, and he took off, carrying me with him.

It was clearly a show of force, a demonstration of his superiority. It was intended to demoralize me, to make sure I was too awed to ask any questions.

Sadly, even knowing that, it was working.

I remained in stunned silence as we flew higher and higher into the air, until he finally stopped ascending and took off to the side instead. "So," he said as seas of lava zoomed past my vision, "are you going to listen?"

This time, it was my turn to growl at him.

He harrumphed. "Good enough."

A hissing sound came from my throat.

"So, you wanted to know why I was here?" he asked. "I'm here to let you know something."

"What is it?" I barked.

"What is it, you ask?" he said. "Well, it's simple. All I want to tell you is this: We've already won."

That caught my ear. "We?" I clarified.

"Hmph," he grunted in response, and then fell silent.

"Whatever," I said. "You say you've won? Try something plausible."

He sighed deeply and shook his head. "You truly are a fool, Chara. Do you think I would say something like that lightly?"

"Absolutely," I immediately responded.

"Insolent bastard!" he yelled. "I am not some base liar!"

"Liar? Maybe not," I admitted. "But base? Absolutely."

"You-!" he started, before abruptly cutting himself off. "Never mind. Rest assured, you will pay the price for this one day."

"Doubt it."

"You think you're invincible?"

"Know," I corrected.

He laughed, a cruel, mocking laugh. "Arrogance will get you nowhere. Not when I've got a bit of an ace up my own sleeve."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Tell me what it is, then."

"Ha ha ha!" he laughed, again. "No, no. I'd much rather you find out for yourself. But I'll tell you this: You're going to eat your words. Soon."

Oh, yes. Of course. That didn't sound like a bluff at all. Definitely not. "Yeah, yeah."

"Scoff if you like, but you're under more threat than you seem to want to think," he said.

For a moment, that actually worried me. If he'd found some way around my power, around the resets…

No. That was impossible. Besides, if he had, he wouldn't be acting like this. All this whole show meant was that he didn't actually have anything.

"Heh," I said. "Pull the other one, why don't you?"

"Believe what you will," he said, starting to dive downwards. Why was he…?

Ahead of us, I saw the entrance to Waterfall. Ah.

He dropped almost to the ground to pass through the entrance, and I saw my chance. I swung my pan at him, and was rewarded with a satisfying thwack as it struck his side. He flinched, but he didn't quite let go of me. Damn.

We passed through the entrance and began to rapidly rise again. Damn, damn, damn. Didn't quite dare to hit him again at this altitude. Although, maybe I might as well do so anyways – sure, I'd probably die, but at least I could try to avoid being in this situation in the first place in the next re-

A very familiar sound came from below, and a moment later, a blue spear darted past me, just barely missing the bird.

"What's going on here?" the fish said.

I felt the bird's grip on my collar tighten. "You…" he growled.

"You'd best explain what you're doing, now!" she yelled.

A noise of general annoyance emerged from the bird's mouth, and with a single motion of his talons, he threw me to the side. I nearly landed on the path, but I just barely missed it. At the last moment, though, I reached out towards the cold rock. The impact felt like someone'd stabbed my hands, but I managed to grab on.

Of course, that meant I was now dangling off a precipice with no apparent way to save myself, and the only way I was getting out of this alive was if someone who really hated me decided to help me. Déjà vu…

"If there's a god somewhere out there, he's laughing right now," I muttered to myself. Then, I looked up. Might as well get a good look at what was happening.

For a moment, the bird and the fish remained where they were, unmoving. No one seemed to be paying much attention to me; they were completely fixated on each other.

Then, the bird took off away from the fish. She thrust out a hand, though, and the bird's wings dissipated and he fell to the floor, his soul now green.

"What the-?!" he yelled, before turning back to face the fish.

"Right, punk," she said, "you're not going anywhere until you tell me what you were doing!"

"Hmph," the bird grunted. "Didn't you want the human dead?"

"Yeah, because you were doing such a great job at killing them," she shot back. I noted that she hadn't bothered trying to defend herself from the accusation. That didn't bode well for my immediate future.

The bird remained silent for a second or two. Then, he slowly raised his hand and let a yellowish glow envelop it. "Don't get involved with matters you have no business in."

The fish just scoffed. "Is that a threat?"

Suddenly, the light grew far brighter, and in just a moment it turned into a crescent floating above the bird's hand. "If it has to be."

Before the bird could make a move, though, the fish made her own. A glowing spear cut through the air as it speeded towards the bird. He seemed taken aback momentarily, but before the fish's attack hit him, he sent his own crescent forwards. It cut through the spear easily and proceeded towards the fish. She ducked before it could reach her, and it flew into the wall, causing a loud noise to reverberate through the cavern as a shower of rocks flew free. When it was over, there was a small crater left in the wall.

The fish turned towards the crater, wide-eyed, but she was only distracted momentarily. She gritted her teeth and jabbed a finger towards the bird. A single spear appeared in his hand – apparently, she really was committed to being honorable – but many more appeared around him, all flying right at him.

He was not to be outdone, though. After a moment's confusion, he threw his spear to the ground and clapped his hands together, and feathers shot up from the ground. They spun around him in a whirling tornado, and the fish's spears were sliced to pieces as they approached. Each of the shards flew in a different direction, tiny specks of blue light flying all through the cavern. I had to lower my head to make sure I didn't get hit.

As I looked up again, the bird folded his arms across his chest and the feathers slowly faded away. He looked the fish dead in the eye. "Drop the magic. Now."

"Fuhuhu!" she laughed. "Not a chance!" A sea of blue lights shone on the path. I noticed with a start that my finger was on one of them. I swore and pulled my hand closer to the edge – just in time. Spears erupted upwards from the path, leaving the bird trapped in a small circle. I couldn't help but think that was a bit redundant, but it was certainly intimidating.

"How's that?" the fish boasted.

"Not as good as you think," the bird replied, and with a wave of his hand, a single feather appeared in front of him. It spiraled outwards, cutting through the forest of spears as easily as a saw through string. By the time it finally disappeared, there was a large clearing around the bird.

For a moment, the fish stood there, stunned. Then, her face set into an expression of grim determination (not that kind, of course) and she thrust her hand forwards once more. A wall of spears appeared behind her, casting the cavern in a bright blue light. They flew at the bird in a deadly torrent.

He, however, was unfazed. He simply slammed his palm into the ground, and a square of yellow light appeared on the path in front of him. A torrent of feathers shot upwards out of the square, chopping the spears to shreds.

But a few made it through. The bird quickly raised his hands, conjuring a yellow crescent in each one, and took to deflecting them. He swung with the ferocity of a cornered beast, batting spears away left and right. Again, I lowered my head, just in case.

A moment later, I heard a short scream from the bird. I raised my head back up to see a spear sticking out of his chest. The crescents were gone from his hands, and his face looked half-crazed. "Damn you!" he shouted. "Damn you and damn your bloody soul magic! Damn you and your bloody Royal Guard! Damn you and everything you stand for and love, you filthy, disgusting animal!"

"Heh," the fish replied. "You've lost. Give up."

"Go to hell!" the bird shouted back, and raised his hand into the air. Yellow light gathered in it, so bright it was nearly blinding. But it didn't turn into anything – it just lingered there for a while. The bird's hand was trembling and his eyes screamed murderous rage, but he didn't do anything. Finally, he hissed and the light slowly faded. Then, he lowered his hand and made an odd gesture.

The fish advanced towards him, a smug smirk on her face. And then, suddenly, a figure appeared beside the bird. There were no fancy effects or anything – there was just nothing there one moment, and something the next.

The figure was tall, slightly exceeding the height of the fish – if I had to guess, I'd put it at about the same size as the taller of the two skeletons. It was cloaked head to toe in black – a hooded black robe, a black mask over its face, black boots, black gloves. There was nothing I could see of the newcomer's identity.

It cast a glance at the bird, and a moment later, I felt something change. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was – I couldn't even describe what, exactly, I'd felt. But the fish's reaction told me everything. Whatever the mysterious figure had done, the fish's soul magic was no longer working.

Then, the figure looked at me. For a moment, its gaze lingered, and an odd feeling came over me. Like I was just being inspected as a _thing_ , like this figure was only interested in me insofar as I was relevant to whatever it was planning. For that moment, I felt like nothing more than an item in some list that person had in their mind.

And then, the figure vanished, as simply as it had arrived, and the feeling went away. The bird swung his hand and his wings reformed. He walked through the entrance to Hotland, took off, and flew away. The fish thrust out her hand in what I assumed was an effort to turn his soul green and stop him, but it clearly hadn't worked, and so he escaped.

And so, we were alone. Me, hanging off a cliff over a seemingly bottomless pit, and the fish, who really, really hated me.

I cleared my throat. "Um. Hello."

She regarded me, coldly. "And why are you here?"

"I don't know!" I said. "Bird carried me here. Ask him why he did it."

For a moment more, she just looked at me. What I saw in her eyes couldn't really be described as hate, as such – it was more like she didn't consider me worthy of even being thought about.

"I failed last time," she finally said. "I won't do that again." She raised her arm, and a spear materialized in it.

"Oh, hell," I moaned to myself, just before she thrust the spear down on my hand. I let go of the cliff with that hand and twisted my body away from the strike, then grabbed back on as she pulled her spear back.

"Look," I yelled, as she prepared for another stab, "I'm hanging off a cliff. How are you even planning to get my soul after you kill me?!"

She stopped mid-attack. For a moment, she hesitated, then she grabbed me with her free hand and tossed me, hard, onto the path. I scrambled to get up as she flung her spear at me. I wasn't quite fast enough, though, and it got me in the leg. Ow. Ah well. After having fought the comedian more times than I could count, this barely even felt unpleasant.

Then, she made a gesture with her hand, and I felt a crushing pressure on my feet. It wasn't like the many other times she'd turned my soul green. Back then, it always just felt like my feet were frozen to the ground – now, it was more like someone'd put a massive weight on them. Too much of this, I thought, and my feet would quite literally be crushed. So that was how much she hated me, huh…

A barrage of spears appeared all around me, but unlike before, none appeared in my hand. She really wasn't giving me any quarter… but I didn't need that. I leaned out of the way of the first spear, then grabbed it as it passed and used it to deflect the next one. Now with a spear, I whirled left and right, blocking spears in a mad frenzy. She was being far more aggressive than in our last fight, but it still wasn't as bad as in my previous runs, and so I could still avoid being hit.

The worst part was, any other time, I'd have appreciated this. But now, I was mainly concerned with the bird, and as fun as fighting the fish was, I couldn't afford to waste time.

"Look," I shouted, blocking a spear, "don't you think you're being a bit hasty here?!" I whirled to the left and sent a spear into the ground. "I mean, c'mon! I helped you back in Hotland! That's gotta count for something, right?"

For a moment, the spears paused, and she hesitated. Then, she waved her hand, and the assault continued.

"Ugh!" I grunted, turning to bat another few spears out of the air. "Please, can you just give me a chance to talk?" It was worth trying. She seemed honorable enough.

The spears paused, again, and she grit her teeth. I could tell that she really, really wanted to just continue trying to kill me, but instead, she barked out "What is it, human?"

Progress. "Look, I'm… I'm sorry about what happened back at your house," I said. "I just really needed anything you could tell me."

Her brow furrowed and her expression twisted even further into anger, but she didn't say anything.

"And, uh," I stuttered, "I know you want my soul. But it doesn't have to be NOW, right? I mean, you want to figure out what's up with that bird too, right?"

"…Yeah," she grunted.

"Well, I do too," I said. "So for now, we've got the same goals. And once we're done with that…" I hesitated for a moment. Given the situation, I hadn't really thought this through. But considering the kind of person she was…

"We could have a rematch," I finished. "After all, first time we fought, I was a bit tired, and I'm sure you were exhausted as hell too from chasing after me. And now, you're coming right out of another fight, and I was just dangling off a cliff. So how about when this is all done, we meet somewhere – hell, let's say right here – and fight each other? We could both arrange to get a bit of rest first, you know, make sure there's no outside factors to affect it. And then, we'd fight, one on one, no holds barred, completely fairly. Figure out once and for all who's better."

As I'd been speaking, her expression had gradually started softening. By the end, it'd turned into an almost cheerful grin. "A rematch, you say?" she asked. "Alright, human! You're on!"

"After we deal with this bird," I reminded her. "OK?"

"Fine," she said. "But you'd better not chicken out!"

"Don't worry," I said. "I won't." And I really wasn't planning to. If anything, I wanted this almost as much as the fish did.

"I'll hold ya to it!" she yelled, and with a wave of her hand, I felt the pressure on my feet disappear. I sighed a small sigh of relief.

With that, she turned and walked away back towards Waterfall. I turned in the opposite direction and headed to Hotland.

There was a smile on my face. I'd gotten a bit of info on the bird. I had an actual lead to follow, no matter how small. And after all this was resolved, I got to have a real, fair fight with the fish!

Yeah, maybe there were still issues. I still wasn't sure how I'd actually deal with the bird, and there was still that cloaked figure to worry about.

But all in all? I'd say I was quite happy with how things were going.


	13. Interlude 2

Par paced around the small blue room. "Just… damn that bloody fish! Why the hell does she have to ruin everything?! If she hadn't had that damned soul magic…!"

"She'd still have won, because she was willing to hold nothing back," Gaster finished for him. "That's your problem, Par. You never go all out."

The bird stared at Gaster with rage in his eyes and hissed something incoherent. "Oh, shut up!" he finally yelled. "She didn't win! You call nicking me with a spear WINNING?!"

"Considering the difference in power between the two of you? Absolutely," the skeleton calmly said. "Besides, I had to come bail you out. What else do you call that besides her winning?"

"Whatever!" the bird barked. "Doesn't bloody matter. How's your research coming along?"

Gaster allowed himself a small smirk. "The theory seems solid enough. I'm not sure what, exactly, will happen, but we should be able to prevent the human from messing around too much."

"Good," Par said.

"Yes, it certainly is," Gaster agreed. "By the way, I must thank you for putting the idea in my head. If you hadn't forced me to consider it, I doubt I would've ever thought of it as anything but impossible."

Par hissed, but said nothing. For a moment, the room was silent. Then, a metallic clink drew everyone's attention as their newest ally took a step away from the wall he was leaning against.

Gaster looked over at him quizzically. "Something to say, Slayer?" The name, he still thought, was silly, but there was nothing to be done about it.

"You say you've got your technique ready?" The knight turned to Gaster with a critical eye.

"Mm-hmm," Gaster nodded.

"Well. How about we test it, then?"

Slayer and Gaster both looked over at Par. "Test it, huh?" he said. "Well. I do have a target in mind…"

"It's the Captain, isn't it?" Gaster asked.

"Yes," Par conceded, not entirely managing to keep the frustration from his voice.

"You've got to start thinking more logically," Gaster chided. "Undyne made you mad, so you're going to kill her?"

"Well, she needs to die," Par said.

"True enough," the skeleton conceded. "But does she have to die NOW? Remember, for now, Chara doesn't know we can defeat their ability. The moment we actually do so, though, we'll lose the element of surprise."

Par eyed Gaster suspiciously. "What are you suggesting?"

"That our first target needs to be someone important," Gaster said. "This is the one free kill we get. If we waste it? Good luck getting another chance."

"Then I don't see what you're complaining about," Par said. "Who's more important than the Captain of the Royal Guard?"

Gaster sighed deeply and folded his arms. "Oh, I don't know – the kid with time powers?"

"Didn't you just say you could counteract those?" Par interjected.

"Yes," Gaster said. "And if we kill anyone else first, they'll know that I can. Whereas if we go for them first, they won't even realize anything's out of the ordinary until it's too late."

"And we need them dead… why?" the bird asked.

Gaster placed his hand to his forehead and said, in an exasperated tone of voice, "The time po-"

"If you can just negate them, why do their time powers even matter?" Par asked. "By all rights, they should just be a normal human child."

Gaster opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Finally, he said "Hm. You… make a good point."

"Glad to hear it," Par said, folding his arms. "Now then… Slayer!"

"Yes?" The knight snapped to attention.

"Find the fish, and when you do… well, you know what to do then. Gaster!"

"Make sure it's permanent, I suppose?" Gaster asked.

"Exactly," the bird said.

Gaster sighed, but said "Got it." Then, he stepped over to Slayer, took his hand, and both of them vanished.

And so it was that several minutes later, the pair was stalking their way through Waterfall, searching for their mark.

Gaster made sure to keep them well out of sight. With his abilities, it wasn't hard, even if a giant orange knight wasn't the most concealable thing in the world. The natural darkness of Waterfall helped too.

It took them a while, but finally, Gaster saw their target. She was walking across a narrow path – one of many in Waterfall – below where the pair was situated.

"There," he whispered. Slayer just grunted in response and, with no hesitation, leapt down to land right in front of the Captain.

A loud crash rang out through the cavern as he landed, and a cloud of dust came up from under his feet. Undyne flinched and took a few steps away from the knight.

Slayer loomed over her, but the Captain of the Royal Guard wasn't easy to intimidate. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Irrelevant," the knight responded, and held his arm out to the side. A pale orange light – not quite the orange of a Bravery attack – shone in his hand. And then, it coalesced.

What formed in his hand could, arguably, be called a greatsword. That would be an insult, however. The weapon he now held was truly enormous. It was at least twice his height in length, and its width matched. If it was any ordinary sword, even holding it would be impossible. But a weapon made of naught but magic was hardly ordinary.

Slowly, Slayer took its grip in both hands and swung in a wide arc. Undyne stared dumbly at the massive sword for a moment, but she ducked out of the attack's path at the last moment. Then, she raised her arm, summoned a spear, and thrust it at her opponent.

Slayer didn't block, or dodge. He didn't even try. And as the spear sunk into him, he didn't react. There was no sign that the Captain's attack had accomplished anything.

"Hmph," the knight grunted, at least acknowledging that he'd just been hit. But he just raised his sword above his head and prepared for another strike.

Undyne looked on as the blade came towards her. The path was too narrow to dodge a vertical strike, and she couldn't even hope to get out of his reach. Instead, she gritted her teeth, summoned another spear, and held it above her head with both hands.

The spear shattered to pieces the instant the sword crashed into it, but it had the desired effect. The blade was repelled.

For a moment, Slayer paused, and then the sword in his hand faded. Undyne didn't know why he'd done that, but she wasn't going to ask questions right now. Instead, she took the opportunity to turn his soul green.

But it didn't work.

She didn't have time to think about what could've went wrong. By the time she'd even realized it wasn't working, another weapon of orange light appeared in Slayer's hands. This time, it was a lance, every bit as large as its predecessor.

He leapt back, then readied his lance and charged at her. The Captain gritted her teeth. The lance was too wide to dodge on such a narrow path, and if she tried to block… she wouldn't even slow him down.

She needed something big, and now. It wouldn't be easy. She was still tired from her fight against the bird, after all. But she had to do something.

Channeling all the will she could, mustering every last bit of magic she had left, she thrust her hand forwards. A storm of spears rushed at her enemy, each new one sapping a bit of what little energy she had left. It was all she could do to not fall to her knees.

The spears buffeted Slayer as he ran. But he didn't even flinch. They impaled themselves in his shoulders, his head, his legs. But still he ran, not showing the slightest reaction to the assault.

And then, Undyne felt the tip of the lance run through her gut.

She choked out a few noises as her eyes flew wide. This… this wasn't how it was supposed to go.

She turned her head downwards, staring at the enormous weapon. And then the knight drew his hand back, and with a flash of pain, the lance tore itself free from her body. She fell to her knees.

Weakly, she raised a hand. She could see it slowly going white. Or was that just her imagination? Yeah. Yeah, it was. Had to be. She wouldn't die that easily.

But then the hand started turning to dust. And Undyne felt a torrent of feelings within her.

There was despair there. But there was rage too, a white-hot rage at this… whatever he was, at this bastard who'd just decided to kill her for no reason.

"Why?!" she barked at the knight.

By now, he'd already started walking away. But he stopped to answer the question. "You were just the first. The rest shall follow."

So that was how it was. The fury inside Undyne grew. He wasn't just going to stop here. He was planning to kill more.

And they wouldn't be able to defend themselves. If she couldn't, if all it took was a single strike from him to end her life… what hope did the rest have?

No, she thought. This wasn't right. She was the defender of the innocent, of all monsterkind. She wasn't just going to let this person walk all over those she was sworn to protect. She couldn't.

Something else rose up inside her. Something new. It burned. A hot, searing pain tore through her body. It was unbearable. But somehow, it was revitalizing too. The agony spread through her arms, and she could feel the dust of her hands come back together, reforming. It spread through her legs, and she stood, though it hurt like nothing she'd ever imagined. It spread to her head, and a single goal took form in her mind.

Stop him. Whatever it took.

Her face felt like it was burning off. Every little movement felt like someone twisting a million knives in her flesh. But she forced herself to smile anyways.

"You're gonna have to try a little harder than THAT."

Slayer turned his head to the side, just in time to see her charging at him.

She was changed, now. Slayer felt something emanate from her – a terrible will, a fierce conviction that he must die.

But Gaster, observing from somewhere out of sight, felt something else entirely. He felt what was in her soul at that moment, what it was that had let her survive the blow. He felt determination.

The Captain of the Royal Guard thrust her spear at the knight, placing all her fury, all her hate for him into the blow. Yet he didn't react. After all, he thought, nothing else she'd done could hurt him, so why should he bother avoiding this?

But he winced as the spear sunk into his chest.

Still, however, he was undeterred. A simple "Hmph," was all the acknowledgement he gave the attack as he raised his hand and formed his sword once more. He swung it sideways, his movements completely nonchalant.

Undyne gritted her teeth. One more hit could mean the end for her. But thankfully, she managed to duck in time, barely dodging the enormous blade.

The knight was already raising his sword for another strike, but the Captain wasn't going to just wait for it. She leapt away to create some distance, then thrust her hand forwards, sending a torrent of spears at her foe. The spears slammed into him, into his gut, his chest, even his head.

He recoiled away from the assault and grunted "Damn." But he didn't seem even the slightest bit hurt.

And then, he struck. And Undyne saw that, as before, she couldn't dodge. The path was still too thin to go sideways, and even after her leap, she couldn't hope to outrun the massive blade.

So she just did what she'd done before. She created a spear and held it above her head with both hands.

The sword slammed into her weapon, sending a tremor running through it. But it held fast.

For a moment, Slayer was shocked. To block one of his blows… just how powerful had she become?

But he was not the kind of person to admit defeat easily. He pressed down, pushing against the spear with all his might.

Agony shot through Undyne's arms. It mingled with the pain she'd endured since the lance had struck her, turning into a single, horrific feeling. Her arms felt like they were shattering, and every moment she held her spear up, it grew worse and worse.

It was over, the logical part of her told her. The knight was simply more powerful. Stronger, more durable, more ruthless and immune to soul magic – what hope did she have against such a foe? Even if she somehow managed to escape this situation, she wouldn't last long.

It was over, the instinctual part of her told her. The pain was unbearable, a hellish torment from beyond her wildest nightmares. She should be curled up in a ball crying right now, and to hell with whatever happened to her. She couldn't keep putting herself through this.

It was over, the emotional part of her told her. It was hopeless, a battle where victory was simply impossible. She'd done her very best, and tried her hardest, but there could be no more struggle. Despair filled her, and what little hope she still had fled. This was her fate.

But something else rose from somewhere deep inside her. And Undyne pushed her spear upwards with all her might. And the enormous blade inched away.

She didn't know where her resolve came from. But she knew one thing. She wouldn't let this bastard get away.

And, for just a moment, the knight stood there in shock. Shock that he was repelled, shock that she could overpower him – shock that there was something stronger than him.

That one moment was enough.

With a primal roar, Undyne thrust her spear forth, stabbing deep into the knight's throat. The point emerged from his nape, having gone straight through. He flinched backwards and faltered, the massive greatsword dissipating.

The Captain tore her spear free and prepared to strike once more. But something new filled Slayer, too. A terrifying will, just like Undyne's – aimed at her destruction.

How dare she, he thought. How dare she strike him? How dare she disrupt him? How dare she wound him?

The spear struck true once more, but this time, the knight did not show any pain. Instead, he simply drew back his fist and punched at the shaft, shattering it into fragments of blue. The fish raised her hand and a new spear started to form, but before it could, Slayer's fist flew forth once more. This time, it was aimed at Undyne herself.

The punch felt like a bulldozer had hit her. She flew backwards through the air and landed on the path – that was lucky – with a loud thud. It felt like something had broken inside of her, and more agony coursed through her.

But that same flame from before, that same flame she'd felt when his lance had struck her, still drove her on. She rose from the ground.

Her face could no longer be described as furious. It had gone beyond that. It was the face of someone who had abandoned rational thought, someone who had abandoned everything they were. It was the face of someone whose only focus was a single task – _kill that bastard_.

But Slayer was undeterred. He simply opened his palm and allowed a massive greatsword to once more materialize in his hand.

With another scream, Undyne charged at him, spears appearing around her as she approached. They flew forth the moment they appeared, stabbing into Slayer dozens of times. But he ignored them. Instead, he simply drew his blade back… and waited.

Undyne leapt at him, a spear clutched in both hands. That was when he struck.

The sword swung in a sideways crescent, smashing right into Undyne's side. It didn't cut her in half outright – that meant she was quite durable now, Slayer noted – but still, the colossal impact flung her from the path, sending her flying across the cavern. She disappeared into the darkness, and a moment later, Slayer heard a _thud_ from far away.

She'd collided with the wall. And now, she fell. She fell into the merciless waters below, far out of reach of any land to save her.

But she wasn't the kind to give up easily, or at all. She twisted around in mid-flight to face upwards and thrust the spear she held into the wall. It dug into the stone, and Undyne's descent came to a halt.

Slayer couldn't see what was happening – it was too dark for him to see that far – but he'd heard the sounds. He swung his hand lightly, and the greatsword dissipated, the orangish light taking on another form. A large pole took form in his hand, an equally massive chain dangling from the end, and at the end of the chain was an enormous spiked ball.

He wound up and swung the oversized flail into the darkness. He had no clue where, exactly, Undyne was, but with this sort of weapon, precision hardly mattered.

The flail approached Undyne. And though rage still boiled within her, she saw no way to escape. Even if – and that was a big if – she managed to swing up and get onto the spear before the flail got to her, it'd still hit her. It was just too big to dodge in her situation.

Fueled by anger and desperation, she searched for a way out. But it was in vain. The spiked ball struck her, the spikes stabbing several holes through her body. The impact shattered the spear she'd been hanging on and sent her flying away from the wall. It was nothing less than a miracle that it hadn't killed her outright.

But though she'd been sent flying, she was still nowhere close to land, and now the walls were out of reach too. Anger and rage and hatred filled her mind, but there was nothing left to do but fall.

She turned her head slightly. At the edge of her vision, she saw him, still standing on the narrow path. The knight.

She gritted her teeth, for just a moment, and then she screamed. All the pent-up frustration, all the stress, all the agony she'd been enduring was revealed in a single, furious scream that resonated through the cavern.

Dozens upon dozens of spears appeared, each one zipping wildly towards Slayer. He scoffed at her desperate attack. He simply lazily swung his flail, shattering scores of the spears as they flew. Before he could swing again, a few spears hit him, but he simply shrugged them off. Once more, he swung at the spears…

…and failed to notice that Undyne was clutching onto one of them.

Just before the massive flail hit, she swung forward and let go, launching herself towards the knight. The head of his flail was too far away, and he couldn't hit her before she was upon him. Her feet collided with the side of the knight's head, and her momentum forced him backwards. He almost stumbled off the platform, but just managed to stop himself before he did.

Undyne, for her part, had used his head as a stepping stone and jumped upwards. Now above him and with the flail still nowhere close enough, she thrust her hand forwards with a mighty roar and rings of spears appeared above Slayer's head. He merely stared at her as the spears descended upon him.

Spear after spear after spear rammed into him, each one going straight through his body and coming out of the other side. But he did not even flinch.

Undyne landed on her feet, and for just a moment, all was still. She regarded her opponent. He looked like a pincushion now, a forest of blue growing out of him. And yet he seemed completely unharmed.

And then, the flail faded away. The remainder of the hail of spears hit him from the side, but Undyne wasn't even sure if he'd noticed.

The knight shifted his stance, turning his focus completely on Undyne. "You begin to annoy me."

The orangish light coalesced once more, forming an enormous shield in Slayer's hand. It was taller than him and easily as wide as the path they were on. With a cold purpose to his movements that wasn't there before, he brought the shield up in front of him and ran forward.

Undyne tried to leap from the path, hoping to avoid the charge and then get back on the same way she'd done previously. But her luck had run out. She wasn't fast enough. With all the force of a raging bull and more, Slayer struck her, sending her flying down the path.

She scrambled to get up as Slayer's shield faded. This time, however, nothing replaced it. He simply broke into a sprint and ran towards her, unarmed.

Slayer wasn't particularly fast. Ordinarily, Undyne would've been back up on her feet by the time he got to her. But regardless of the flame pushing her on, the battle had taken its toll on her, and so by the time she'd managed to finally stand up, Slayer was already upon her.

A single mailed hand reached out towards her and grabbed her by the neck, holding her so tightly she could hardly breathe. The other flew towards the side of her head in a haymaker.

She tried to duck, but Slayer's grip was far too tight. The fist struck her. Ordinarily, the impact would've sent her flying, but the knight's grasp denied her even that luxury. She felt her temple cave in under the punch's impact, and a dizzying pain shot through her head. Her thoughts scrambled suddenly, the sudden blow to her head taking the wind from her sails. Her white-hot rage was relegated to the back of her mind, replaced by stunned dazedness in the forefront.

The knight let go of her neck and raised both hands above his head, clasping them together. Weakly, Undyne tried to leap away, but the motion ended up as nothing more than a pathetic stagger. Slayer hit her once more, forcing her to her knees.

Her sight blurred together. She… couldn't think right. There… there was something wrong with her.

She was supposed to kill him. Yes, that was what she was supposed to do. But all her energy had fled her. There was no rage left. Just scrambled thoughts inside a head that had, with just two hits, already taken too much of a beating to make sense of them.

She raised her head to meet the knight's eye and forced out the closest thing to a growl she could. "Gghgk."

For a moment, the knight stared coldly at her. Then, he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air. He held her there for a second, and then he threw her straight up.

She felt the wind rush past her as she flew. She felt herself hit the ceiling of the cavern. She felt her momentum break the rocks apart, their shards cutting her to pieces as they fell.

She felt her body torn apart as she flew deeper into the ceiling. She felt as an arm shattered, and a leg.

And then she felt a sharp impact on her neck as her head snapped backwards. And then she felt nothing.

Only dust came down to the path.

From his unseen perch, Gaster made a small exertion of will. He didn't feel anything change, but he knew something had. Undyne wouldn't be coming back.

He was almost surprised at how easy it was. He'd expected to feel something, to feel some guilt, some reluctance. But the deed was done and he felt nothing.

He vanished from his hiding place and appeared right next to Slayer. "Hm," he said, placing a hand on the knight's shoulder. "I suppose Par was right. You are quite impressive."

And then they both vanished. But somewhere else, somewhere far, far away, someone else stood, staring at the scene. A single monster, eyes wide, mouth hanging dumbly open.

And a quick pitter-patter of little feet resounded through the cavern as the monster ran away.


	14. Consequence

**AN:** Again, apologies for the late update.

* * *

I walked, frustrated, down the roads of Hotland.

I'd searched the area over and over again. I'd looked for anything vaguely out of place. And there was no bloody trace of the bird. None at all.

Where the hell was he? It wasn't like he had many places to hide. I'd already done more than enough runs to know every single nook and cranny of the Underground. Yet wherever I'd looked, he wasn't there.

I growled in anger and prepared to search again. There's got to be something, I thought. No bloody way there wasn't.

So I searched. Again. And again, I found nothing.

Just… what the hell.

I stomped the ground. Fighting the comedian wasn't half this frustrating. Back then, I'd had a clear objective and a good idea of how to achieve it. Now? Now, I was trying to fight an enemy I couldn't even find. It was hard to do something if I didn't have the first clue what to do.

Well, nothing else to do. I just searched the area once more. Felt like bashing my head against a brick wall.

Nothing. Again.

I hissed in anger and pounded my frying pan on the rocks. At least when there was a hard fight, I had some sense of progress. Some sense that, every time, I got closer and closer to finally winning. Here? All it felt like I was accomplishing was giving myself a migraine.

Maybe he wasn't in Hotland. Maybe he'd doubled back while I wasn't looking and made his way to Waterfall, or even Snowdin. Maybe I wasn't finding anything here because there wasn't anything here.

Well, some sort of plan was better than nothing. I turned and headed back towards Waterfall.

By the time I'd gotten there, I'd calmed down a bit. The sudden blast of cool air as I stepped into the mountain expelled the last traces of the rage from my mind, and I stopped for a moment to clear my head.

Now that I thought about it, it seemed obvious. If I hadn't found him in Hotland, it was foolish to assume he'd be there. I should've come here sooner.

Ah well. What was done was done. I stepped forward into Waterfall, a new feeling of vigor within me.

I kept my eyes open as I moved, looking around everywhere. I needed any clue I could find. Even then, though, I found nothing for a while. But that was alright. Now that I'd stopped thinking exclusively about Hotland, there were quite a lot of places to search. No point in jumping to conclusions early.

And so, I walked on, looking around as I did. Really, Waterfall seemed rather peaceful now that there wasn't a fish lady trying to kill me. It was actually oddly pleasant. Just walking through the place, taking in the sights… I had to admit, it was nice.

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted as I felt myself step in… something. Whatever it was, it was grainy and gritty and in general not a pleasant thing to be in.

I thought I had a pretty good idea of what it was.

I stopped, took a step back, and looked down. As I thought, a pile of white dust lay upon the path.

Hm. Well, that was interesting.

So the bird had killed someone. Or maybe it was that figure from before. Either way, it didn't matter. Someone was dead, and I was willing to bet anything the bird was responsible in one way or another.

At the very least, that meant I was on the right track. He was in Waterfall, and most likely somewhere in the vicinity. Excellent.

I knelt down and took a closer look at the dust. There was nothing to identify who it once was – at least, not that I could see. Unfortunate. If I'd known who it was, maybe I could've figured out the motive. That'd get me one step closer to knowing what the bird was plotting.

Ah well. I didn't need to know what went through his feathery little head. All I needed to know was how to make sure nothing ever did again. And that meant, first of all, tracking him down.

A small smirk appeared on my face at that thought. After all, he'd given me exactly what I needed to do just that.

I stood back up and looked around. There were no other clues in the vicinity that immediately jumped out at me, but he had to be somewhere nearby. After all, this pile of dust wasn't scattered to the four winds yet, and that meant this monster had died pretty recently.

Well, in that case, no time for standing around. I took off at a sprint further into Waterfall.

But he was still nowhere to be seen. Damn. Must've fled already. And as much as I hated to admit it, I was just a small child with short legs trying to chase a winged bird-person. If he wanted to flee, I wouldn't be able to catch up with him.

So I needed to trap him, I thought. Run him into Snowdin Town or someplace like that. Somewhere with a bunch of monsters. He wouldn't want to go into someplace like that – and that'd leave him with nowhere to run away.

Of course, I still needed to find him first. That was annoying, but perfectly doable. After all, I'd done plenty of monster hunting in my previous runs. Obviously, this was a bit different – this time, I needed to find a specific monster, not just a monster in general – but with any luck, I'd manage eventually.

I made sure to keep a sharp eye out as I proceeded down the twisting paths of Waterfall. Unfortunately, I didn't find any other clues. That wasn't too unexpected – it wasn't like a monster would've left footprints on hard rock. It did, however, mean that my only real option was to just keep wandering until I ran into him.

So I did. I walked, more or less at random, down the twisting paths of Waterfall, keeping a sharp eye out for anything suspicious as I did. I didn't see the bird – because of course, nothing could ever be easy – and neither did I see any overt clues to his presence. But I did notice something – the monsters.

Of course, monsters were hardly an uncommon sight in Waterfall, even if seeing them on a return trip was a bit unusual to me. But what was odd wasn't their presence. It was how they acted. Many of them were huddled together, frantically whispering to each other about something. Others stood alone in a corner somewhere, silently sulking about something. A few were shouting at each other, clearly arguing about something.

Whatever was going on, I wasn't willing to believe it had nothing to do with the bird. He decides to reveal himself, and right at that moment everyone starts behaving oddly? I refused to believe that that was a coincidence.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get as much information as I'd like. The whispers were drowned out by the shouts, which in turn blurred together into a mess of noise that I couldn't pick anything out of. Maybe if I got closer, I'd be able to hear something, but when the monsters were already so agitated, I doubted they'd take kindly to me trying to overhear them.

Here, however, the twisting nature of the caverns worked in my favor. After a bit of searching around while trying my best to look inconspicuous, I found a pair of monsters having a little shouting match near a wall. I hid behind it, leaned back, and tried my best to drown out everything other than what the two were saying. After all, they couldn't complain about me listening in if they never found out I was doing so.

"Well, let's see your proof, then!" one of the monsters yelled. Judging by the voice, it was probably female.

"You think they were lying?!" the other – definitely male – shouted back at her. _They_? Were they talking about me? Not necessarily – there were still a few other possibilities – but it seemed likely.

But they were talking about someone who may or may not have lied to them. And as I recalled, I'd never even talked to either of those monsters.

"Of course they were!" the female one snapped. "You-"

But before she could finish, the male one cut her off. "Why?!" he yelled. "What possible reason could they have?!"

"I don't bloody well know!" the female yelled. "Attention, like as not!"

"The hell?!" the other one shouted back. "You think they'd lie about someone DYING just for attention?!"

A metaphorical lightbulb went off in my head. Someone dying? I knew a bit about that. And I'd have bet anything that whoever they were talking about was the same one whose dust I found.

Also, that confirmed that they weren't talking about me. After all, I sure as hell hadn't told anyone about that. Which meant that, given the t _hey_ and where we were, they were almost certainly talking about the monster kid.

Which meant they were the first one to discover the murder. Which meant that maybe I ought to go talk to them. The thought was unpleasant, but anything to find the bird.

And it _was_ a murder. That much, I was absolutely certain of. If the bird showed up and a monster died soon after, then knowing the bird, there was really just about one reasonable conclusion to draw.

But I still didn't know much about it. All I'd really found out was that the monster kid might've known something about it – everything else was just what I already knew. That wasn't exactly a lot of new information. But perhaps if I stuck around and listened, I'd discover something else.

"And why not?! Especially at their age!" the woman yelled, and I couldn't help but find myself getting a bit worked up about that last part. "You just know kids will do anything for attention these days!"

Again, I couldn't help but get a bit upset.

"Like lie about a murder?!" the other one shouted at her. "Come on, Carge! I know you hate our youth and how they're always at fault for everything and blah blah blah, but seriously?!"

"Pah!" the female monster scoffed. "You think you can trust these young'uns?! You're deluded, boy!"

"What'd you say?!" the male one yelled in response.

"The truth, boy!" the female shouted. "You're too naïve for your own good!"

"You little-!" the other one screamed before degenerating into gibberish.

Right, clearly this was going nowhere. I made myself scarce as discreetly as I could, and thankfully, the two monsters didn't seem to notice me leaving. That done, I tried to get my thoughts in order.

The monster kid. Judging by their conversation, the monster kid was the one I needed to see if I wanted to get to the bottom of this. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it seemed I had to talk to him once more.

And so, I sprinted down the winding paths of Waterfall, keeping an eye out for them as I went. It took a while of running down featureless paths of cold blue stone, but eventually, my diligence paid off. I spotted them a good distance away, frantically explaining something to a monster. The monster looked shocked, but what, exactly, the nature of their conversation was, I couldn't make out. I was too far away.

I ran as fast as my legs would take me to the spot where I'd seen him. By the time I caught up, their talk with the other monster was over and they were already quite a distance away.

"Hey! Hold on!" I breathlessly gasped after them.

The monster kid stopped in their tracks, stumbling and nearly falling over as they did. They whirled around to face me.

For a moment, their face was surprised and quizzical. Then, I saw a brief pause of realization.

And then they ran towards me with rage in their eyes. "YOU!"

I felt I knew why they felt that way. "Look, I'm so-"

And I didn't get to finish that sentence, because they slammed into me. We were about the same size, but they were a monster and I was a human. I was almost certainly stronger than them, and I knew a bit about fighting. I should've been able to dig in and stand my ground.

Should've. And under normal circumstances, would've. But I wasn't expecting that. And that made all the difference.

We tumbled to the ground in a heap. I scrambled to get out from under them, but suddenly, I felt something pierce my shoulder. I turned my head to find their teeth digging into my flesh.

It was hardly an effective attack. At best, it was a mild annoyance. I grabbed their head with both hands and pried them off me, then shoved them away from me and stood up before they could recover. In the heat of the action, I nearly drew my pan, but then, thankfully, I remembered that I needed to talk to them, not fight. Escalating would do me no good.

They pushed themselves off the ground, the furious look still in their eyes. With a high-pitched growl, they ran at me once more.

I held my hands up in front of me and shouted, "Calm down!" But they didn't listen. This time, though, I was prepared. I hopped to the side and stuck out a foot in their path. I saw their eyes go wide, but they had a bit too much momentum to stop. They tripped on my foot and tumbled down to the ground.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" I said. I reached down, wrapped my arms around them, and tried to help them up. "I just want to talk."

"What is there to talk about?!" they shouted, stumbling to their feet. "You… you little… you!"

"The dead monster," I said, trying to keep as calm as possible. I wasn't doing excellently at that, but I hoped it'd be enough. "Someone said you saw their death."

"You… you! How… how dare you!" they yelled, tears forming in their eyes. "She… she…!" A few hiccupping sobs came from them.

 _She_. And they clearly weren't comfortable talking about it. And they seemed especially aggravated about what I'd said about the fish. And it'd make sense for the bird's first strike to take out someone important…

The pieces fell into place. And the conclusion I came to was oddly sobering.

I placed a gentle hand on their shoulder. "It was the Captain. Wasn't it?"

They bit their lip and raised their teary eyes at me. That was all the confirmation I needed.

The fish was too big a loss to tolerate. She could still be a valuable ally in the fight against the bird. And people would notice her disappearance, which could cause all sorts of issues. And besides all that, I wanted that rematch.

And… the idea of her being dead felt wrong, somehow. I wanted her to be alive. Maybe I was just being a perfectionist about the whole _no killing_ thing. Maybe I'd just subconsciously decided that, in general, no one should be killing her other than me. But whatever the reason, the thought of her being dead just felt wrong.

Well, one thing to do when something like that happened – just try again. All I had to do was load back to before she'd been killed and stop it from ever happening.

But not yet. First, I wanted to know everything surrounding the event. How it'd happened, whether it was the bird or the figure in black, maybe even why. And that meant that before I got to messing with the timeline, I first needed to finish talking with the kid.

"I'm sorry," I said, closing my eyes.

"You… you…" they said between sobs. "I'll… I'll never forgive you."

"I know," I told them, and inclined my head slightly.

"It's… it's all your fault," they said. "If… if you… if you hadn't…" And then they broke down crying again.

Really? They were saying I was somehow responsible for her death? That was just stupid. But in the interest of not being just as stupid myself, I didn't say anything. I just calmly accepted their scorn.

"Look. I'm sorry. I really am." I finally opened my eyes once more. "But please. I didn't want this any more than you did. I just… I just want to know what happened."

Their eyes went wide and I saw the flow of tears abate. "R… really?"

"I promise," I said, as solemnly as I could manage.

"O… okay…" they said. Their eyes were still misty and a tear still fell occasionally, but at least they weren't crying me a river anymore. "I… I… She…"

I squeezed their shoulder in what I hoped was a reassuring way. It seemed to have worked, even if not too well. "She was… she was just… she was walking, uh, on patrol, I think…" They paused for a moment, and then looked down, as if ashamed. "I… I was watching her… And then… Then…"

"Go on," I said. "There was another monster, right?"

They nodded. "It… it was like… some sort of knight…"

A knight? Come to think of it, the fish had mentioned something like that back at her house. But I still refused to believe the bird wasn't behind this…

Then that meant the knight was most likely with the bird too. So he had two allies, at the very least. Unfortunate, but at least I was aware.

"And then?" I asked.

"He… he just…" They paused for a moment. "He just a-attacked her. J-just like that. She… she t-tried to fight back, b-but… H-he… he just…"

"Killed her," I supplied.

Their tears started flowing once more. "It… it was… he just… h-he just…"

Clearly, they weren't going to talk about that particular part. "What happened afterwards?" I asked.

"I… I thought she was..." they said, and then stopped. I nodded in understanding. "B-but… s-something happened… s-she…"

Once again, I felt I knew what they were talking about. Rather intimately, in fact. "Changed," I finished for them.

"Y-yeah."

The Undying, huh. The form I'd fought her in back in all my previous runs. Fueled by the one thing monsters could never have. Determination.

I'd always quite enjoyed fighting her like that. Not just because it was challenging, though that was a big part of it – but also, there was just something that felt so great about fighting someone I knew was using the same ability as me.

But she'd only gone into that form because she thought I could kill all of monsterkind if she didn't stop me. If she did the same against the knight, then more than likely, she thought the same of him. I was certainly dealing with a powerful foe.

Well, that'd never stopped me before.

"And then?" I asked.

"S-she… she tried to fight him a-again…" they said. "B-but… i-it was like he… he didn't… he didn't even n-notice…"

I raised an eyebrow at that. A monster powerful enough that he could just ignore the Undying's attacks? That would be a very powerful foe indeed. Most likely stronger than any I'd fought before.

Or, I reminded myself, it could just be the monster kid's hyperactive imagination. But somehow, I doubted that. Besides, I didn't really want that, either. After all this time searching for the bird and his companions, it'd be frankly disappointing if they were easy to defeat.

"A-and then… h-he… h-he…" they stammered, before breaking down crying once more.

"I understand," I said. "Can you remember anything else?"

"There… there was a-a m-monster… I, I think…" they said. "I m-mean, a-another one…"

Curious. So the knight wasn't alone. Then, most likely, either the bird or the figure was with him. If that was true, it'd at least confirm beyond all doubt that he was with the bird.

"Can you tell me anything about them?" I asked, as gently as I could.

They shook their head. "N-no… T-they just… just appeared a-after she was… she was…"

I nodded.

"I-I didn't see them too well. I-I don't k-know who it was."

If they just appeared, then that meant they could probably teleport. And in that case, I had a feeling I knew who they were. "Were they dressed in black?" I asked.

"Uh-huh," they nodded.

Gotcha. So whoever the mysterious figure was, he or she had showed up to the fight. No, that wasn't quite right – they'd showed up after the fight, which meant…

It was a wild guess, but I had an idea. "And did the two of them disappear soon after?"

The monster kid looked up at me with some confusion. "U-um… y-yeah…"

Ah-ha. So I was right – the figure was a transport service, of sorts. They could teleport not only themselves, but others too. That explained a few things. It explained how the bird had showed up to greet me at the start of this run. It explained how he'd showed up again in Hotland, too – though, to be fair, he could've gotten over there the normal way too.

It also complicated my task severely. Clearly, the bird did not want to be found. That meant that if there was someone who could teleport helping him hide, finding him would be nigh impossible. He could be hiding just about anywhere, maybe even places I couldn't access – and if I did come close to finding him, he could always just teleport away and I'd never have a clue.

Damn it. At least I knew, but still...

Well, that wasn't necessarily the end. I could still figure something out. Maybe I could sneak up on him, or figure out a way to make him come to me.

I'd think about it later. For now, I was pretty sure I'd gotten just about everything I'd get out of the monster kid, and that meant it was time to reload.

"Alright. Thanks," I told them, just because it felt wrong to leave the conversation without an ending.

Then, I gathered up my determination. I thought back to my save point, to where I was going to go back to. With that image in mind, I shaped my determination into something of a force – a will to return to that point, a will so strong even the universe itself could not ignore it.

It sounded more complicated than it was. Really, after how much I'd done it, most of it happened on a subconscious level.

For a moment, I felt a pressure on my mind, the world trying to resist the change I imposed upon it. And then it was gone, and for the briefest fraction of a second, everything warped around me. And then I stood on the red rocks of Hotland.

But there was something else, this time. When I'd done that load, for that moment when I'd felt the world try to resist me, I'd felt a second pressure too. Something completely different from the first one, something just out of reach of my consciousness…

And, I noticed with a start, I wasn't standing where I'd last saved. I was standing somewhere else in Hotland, in an area without any features that instantly stood out. I recalled passing by that area a few times during my investigation, but my last save was before I'd started doing that...

A cold panic shot through me. Sweat pooled on my forehead.

No. I couldn't be too hasty. I needed to make sure.

I ran, ran as fast as my legs would take me. I ran to Waterfall. I ran to where I'd found the dust.

It was still there.

I stared down at it, my eyes wide, my mouth agape. My last save was before the bird had showed up, and thus at a time when I knew the fish was alive. If she was still dead…

Desperately, quietly praying that something had just gone wrong, I loaded my save file once more. And once more, I felt that second pressure. It felt different, different from anything I'd ever felt before…

And then it was gone. And I was standing in the same point my previous load had put me.

I fell to my knees.

Holy hell. Holy hell.

So he wasn't just bluffing. He really had something.

God.

And all of a sudden, I felt something, something I hadn't really felt in a long, long time. I felt fear. He could kill me. He could kill me, and I wouldn't be able to go back.

I felt myself tremble. If… if that happened…

No. I couldn't think about that. I couldn't let myself. I still had things to do. I still had to find the bird.

Did I want to find the bird?

Just to check, just in case, I rose to my feet and wandered over to where the dust was. And it was still there.

I'd at least hoped the long walk would get rid of some of the hopelessness, the despair… the fear. It didn't. Anxiety still festered in my gut, a sickening feeling that I just couldn't turn away from.

"Heh," I said, looking down at the pile of dust. "I guess we'll never have…"

 _…that rematch_ , was what I planned to say. It was meant as a snide little remark, a bit of black humor to distract myself from my situation.

Instead, as I said it, the weight of that word crashed down upon me like a mountain.

 _Never._

I'd never have that rematch. Hell, I'd never fight the fish again. The option was gone. Sealed away forever.

She was one of the only two people with whom I had any fun anymore. And now she wasn't there anymore. I'd never feel the thrill of facing her again.

And something else clawed at me too. What if I had acted differently? What if I'd done a bit better back at her house? What if I managed to get her to stop hating me? Hell, we'd had an alliance just before this. What would've that worked out to be?

Those questions never seemed important before. I was always just doing the same old thing. But back then, it felt like I had an eternity to explore them. Back then, I DID have an eternity to explore them. If I ever wanted to, I could always just go back and see what would've happened.

And now she was gone. And suddenly, the curiosity dug at me. I wanted, desperately, to know what would've happened. What would've happened if I didn't make her hate me back at her house. What would've happened if we actually worked together. What would've happened if I'd actually tried and befriended her.

What would've happened if she hadn't died.

And I'd never know.

That realization mixed together with the despair and the terror I already felt. It was too much.

For a moment, I stood there, frozen. My lips quivered. A mist came over my eyes.

And then, I ran. I didn't know where. I didn't know why. But I ran.

And tears fell from my eyes.


	15. Remember

Eventually, I ended up in Snowdin.

I'd stopped crying by then. The immediate feeling – that raging terror, those thoughts of _oh god, oh god, I'm gonna die_ – had faded away, but it was a small mercy. Now something else gnawed at me – not a whirlwind of fear inside my mind anymore, but a cold, sinking feeling deep in my gut. Paranoia took hold of me, making me habitually check all the shadows around me like a mouse hiding from a cat. I hated it. I hated acting like a coward. But I couldn't help myself.

And somewhere deep inside, of course, that primal fear still reigned. I could die now. The bird could kill me, and… and…

I couldn't bear to finish that thought.

My eyes darted from side to side, giving me an overview of my surroundings. I was in the town. Good. That provided a measure of safety, at least. He couldn't get me here. He wouldn't attack somewhere that was filled with monsters. Right?

I leaned against a building and tried to stop trembling. It didn't work.

Ugh. This was useless. I needed to get my thoughts in order. I had to get out of this situation one way or another, and that meant I needed to figure out how.

But my thoughts just kept turning back to that stupid bird. To what he was going to do if he found me. To how it'd feel, to the fear, the terror, the despair that I knew would be my last feelings. And at the end of it… to what death would be like.

I shuddered. What would it be like? Would it be a moment of terror and pain, and then an eternity in an icy void? Or eternal torment, agony that would never go away? Or just… nothing?

No. No, no. I shook my head. Couldn't think about that. No matter how much my mind wandered to the topic. I needed to stay focused. Especially now.

Right. What could I do? Well, no matter how scary it was to think about… I wouldn't be able to do a thing if he found me now. Maybe I could dodge around for a while, and perhaps I'd even last a rather long time, but it'd be pointless. If I wasn't able to hurt him in my previous run, this would be no different.

Then I needed to think about what I could do before he found me. I still had time. If I used it correctly, there had to be something I could do.

I looked around, once more. And something came to mind. I was in Snowdin. That meant the comedian was probably around here somewhere. He could help me. He'd know what was going on. He had to.

And if he knew what I'd done?

My breath caught in my throat. Oh god. I hadn't even thought of that. The bird wasn't the only one hunting me now. If I couldn't come back… the comedian would just love to take his own revenge.

But I could beat him. Hell, I'd already beaten him without even getting hit once. If he tried to attack me, he'd just die himself.

Or at least, that was what I told myself. And I was pretty sure it was true. But somehow, the prospect seemed terrifying anyway. Even if there was almost no chance I'd actually lose, even if victory was basically certain, the idea of facing true death sent shivers down my spine.

And if I did win? If I did win, the bird wouldn't want to waste it. If I won, the comedian would be dead. Gone forever. Just like the fish.

That scared me, too. He was a constant, my one and only equal. The only one left to challenge me. If he disappeared forever, I… I didn't know what I'd do. It'd all feel so empty.

I realized it, then. I'd killed them all, over and over again, so many times. And yet, now that it actually mattered…

I didn't want him to die. I didn't want anybody to die.

Now, all of a sudden, it became clear. It became clear how many options I had, how many paths there were that I hadn't explored yet. There were so many _what if_ s, so many situations where I could've done one thing differently and changed the entire run. And I'd never tried any of them before.

And if I didn't figure out how to solve this, I'd never get to.

I'd realized something like that already, of course. With the fish. I'd realized that she was gone, that I'd never see her again, that I'd never know what would've happened if I'd just done something else. But back then, I didn't realize just how big it was. I didn't realize that it wasn't just the fish. I didn't realize that if I wasn't careful, everything I had would be torn away from me.

It was a chilling realization. That this could be the end. No – not could, would. I couldn't go back to before the fish's death. I couldn't reset anymore, not truly. Whatever happened here, I couldn't go back anymore. I couldn't go back to my routine, to being the hunter. However this ended up… it was my life now.

My eyes went wide, the breath stolen from my lungs. I looked blankly up at the ceiling of the cavern. It was all too much to process.

It just felt so… big. I'd gotten used to the resets, to being able to just go back whenever I wanted. I'd gotten used to nothing I did having any consequences.

And now it did. And, I realized, I had no idea how to live with that.

So, I clutched onto the one thing I knew I needed to do for sure. Figure out some way to beat the bird.

I took a deep breath and stepped away from the wall. Right. Time to get to that.

I needed help. That much, I realized right away.

Just a short time ago, I would've scoffed at the idea. Before, my pride would never allow me to ask anyone for help. It'd feel like I was giving up, like I was admitting I couldn't do something on my own. But now, that seemed irrelevant. I just needed to live.

And, well, there was only one person who could help with this. As much as it was risky, as much as there were things that could go wrong…. I needed to talk to the comedian. It was my only option.

But I didn't know where he was. And I somehow doubted I could find him on my own… unless…

His brother would be around here somewhere. If anyone would know where he was, he would.

I took another deep breath, trying to mentally prepare myself for what was to come, and walked off in a random direction. I figured I'd find him in the town, or close to it, so I wandered around that area.

Eventually, I spotted him. He was trudging through the snowy forest, his face downcast.

I took one more deep breath and said "Hey." Somehow, the simple action of doing that felt so… final. So irrevocable.

He turned to me, a smile, as always, on his face. But it seemed strained, somehow.

"OH! H-HELLO, HUMAN!" he said, his voice trembling a bit. I could figure out well enough what that meant. The news about the fish had spread.

I tried to find some little courtesy to say, some small talk before I got to why I was having this conversation. But nothing came up. So, I decided to just get to the point. "I'd like to see your brother. You know where he is?"

He looked off to the side a bit, putting his chin in his hand. "I THINK HE'D… STILL BE AT OUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW…"

Well, at least he wasn't acting quite so stupid and pompous right now. I supposed the fish's death had some upsides. "Could you show me where that is?"

"SURE!" he said, in a somewhat excited voice. I suspected he was just glad to have something to distract him from his thoughts.

I sympathized. What I wouldn't do for something like that myself…

But if I distracted myself, it'd just make me easy prey. I didn't know how much time I had, so I had to do as much as I could as quickly as I could.

I followed him back to the town, to a relatively large house. "HERE IT IS!" he said, gesturing towards the door.

I opened it and stepped inside. The interior of the house looked rather welcoming, and stepping inside after all of that felt… oddly comforting.

"HIS ROOM'S RIGHT UP THERE!" the skeleton said, and ran towards the stairs. I followed him as he ascended to the second floor and went over to a door with… something... very colorful spilling out from under it.

"Thanks," I said, looking up to meet his eyes. "Can you please leave now? I'd… like this to be private."

"WHY?" he asked, tilting his head at me.

"It's… nothing important," I lied. Telling him anything remotely resembling the truth would be a horrible idea, not to mention how much time it would take. "Just something I'd like to discuss privately."

He was silent for a moment, and then, rather solemnly (for him, at least), said "ALRIGHT," and walked back out of the house. It struck me as a bit of an uncharacteristic reaction, which meant he probably thought this had something to do with the fish's death. Well, good. If he thought he knew what this was about, he wouldn't get too curious. Or at least, I hoped so.

I stood, all alone, for just a moment. There was no sound in the house, no sign of any living thing. Just me and the comedian, in a conversation that would probably decide my fate.

I gathered up my courage and knocked on the door a few times. No response. Well, of course it wouldn't be that easy. I leaned towards the door and yelled "Hello?" towards it.

"no need to shout." The voice came from somewhere behind me.

I almost jumped, but managed to contain my reaction somewhat. Instead, I just yelped, staggered away from the voice, and stumbled right into the door, which wasn't much better.

I turned my head to the side. The comedian, of course, stood behind me. I sighed deeply. "Was that entrance really necessary?"

"what entrance?" he asked with very genuine-sounding confusion which I'd be willing to bet anything wasn't actually genuine. "i was just standing here. why'd you knock on the door?"

"No, you we-" I cut myself off with a small sigh and shook my head. That topic would lead nowhere, and I hardly had time right now. "Never mind that. Can we talk?"

"what's on your mind?" he asked.

And as if on cue, I suddenly realized I didn't know how to start. Just great. Well, might as well start with something that was fairly common knowledge. "So. I'm assuming you know what happened to the Captain…"

"yep." His tone didn't seem like the sort of tone someone would use when discussing a friend's death, but frankly, I wasn't sure what I expected.

I took one more deep breath. "Okay. So… look. I'm going to need you to be completely straight with me; what's going on?"

One of his eye sockets half-closed, which I figured was the skeletal equivalent of a raised eyebrow. "what?"

"Don't play coy," I said, staring him down. "I know you know what's happening. I just need you to tell me."

"what do you mean?"

I should've known. Why did I think he'd give me an honest answer? "The thing about the resets."

For a moment, he seemed confused. Then, he said "what resets?"

"Look, comedian," I snapped at him, "there's no one else here. No one's going to overhear us. No one's going to know anything about what we say here. Nothing terrible is going to happen if you admit to knowing about the resets. So please, work with me here."

He stayed silent, staring at me with an expression of something approaching worry. Finally, I took a step towards him and said, in a grave voice, "Look, this is serious. Even for me."

For an instant that lasted just long enough to be awkward, he said nothing. Then, he waved a hand dismissively and said "welp. no clue what you're talking about."

God damn it. God damn it! Even when there was seriously something at stake, the bloody comedian couldn't be honest for a single bloody second. What the hell did I expect?!

I was just about to yell at him when he leaned towards me conspiratorially and said "but in a hypothetical situation where i did know what you were talking about… i'd say you were some sort of time traveler."

…good enough.

"Well, in this hypothetical situation," I said, "what would you say if I told you I couldn't use that power anymore?"

He stared at me for a second or two. "well, i'd probably say that that sounds like quite a situation," he finally said.

"Yes, I know," I said, very slowly. "Why do you think I'm here?"

He just shrugged. "welp, in that case, sorry. can't help ya with that."

I gritted my teeth. Of course it wouldn't be easy to get anything from him. "At least tell me what's going on."

"with what?"

"The resets!" I shouted. "I need to know why I can't reset anymore!"

He made a confused face at me. "how should i know?"

"Because you seem to know bloody everything about me!" I yelled. "And everything about the resets! So tell me, why aren't they working?!"

"um." He paused for a moment. "afraid i can't help you there."

"But- you-!" I sputtered. Damn it. I wanted to believe he was just being coy, but… he sounded really, genuinely confused. And now that I thought about it, I didn't really have any reason to assume that he knew. He just always seemed to me like someone who knew everything, but now… now it seemed like he really was just as clueless as I was.

I sighed. "Okay. Fine. But there's something else I need help with."

"what's on your mind?"

I took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and said "There's someone out to kill me."

His eyes opened wide and he froze in shock. For a few moments he said nothing, and a cold, lifeless silence reigned in the house.

Finally, he spoke. "um. wow. that's… really heavy."

"Yes. I know," I said. "Can you help me?"

"uh." He looked to the side. "how about you come in?" He stepped past me and opened the door to his room. I followed him inside, and he shut the door behind us.

The room defied description.

He walked over to the mattress in one corner and sat down on it. "you can sit on the floor."

I grumbled under my breath for a moment, but didn't argue. I just walked over to the spot he'd indicated and sat down.

"so. uh." He hesitated for a moment. "you say someone wants to kill you?"

"Yep."

"i, uh…" He glanced over to the side. "so… how can i help?"

"I don't know!" I said. "Just… protect me, or something!"

He half-closed one eye. "how? i'm not much of a fighter."

"Like hell you aren't!" I snapped.

He stared at me.

"I know what you can do!" I continued. "You think this is the first timeline where we've met? I've known you for way longer than that! Hell, I've fought you before, back in my previous runs! So how about you shove off… and…"

I gulped. Whoops.

He stared at me for a moment. "you've fought me before?"

"Um."

He looked up and to the side. "whoa, whoa. you must be misremembering something. that doesn't sound like something i would've done."

"Uh… yeah, I guess," I said, trying desperately to salvage the situation. But I knew it was useless. It was basically certain that he already knew what I'd done – he was just toying with me now.

Maybe I should reset, I thought. After all, I wasn't quite unable to – I just wasn't able to go back too far. I could still retry this. And logically, it would be the right thing to do. But… just the thought of doing that again, of being reminded of how helpless I was now… it sent shivers down my spine. I didn't want to do that unless it was absolutely necessary.

"well, then, there's your answer." He winked at me. "all that stuff about me being a good fighter? i don't know where ya got that from. sorry, bucko. can't help ya."

I hissed in frustration. It was a trap, and a damn good one, at that. I wanted his help – no, I needed his help. And he knew I did. And all I had to do in exchange… was tell him everything. Come clean. Tell him what I'd done. All the deaths, all the monsters slain by my hand.

And if I did, I'd effectively be prostrating myself before him. After all, he knew I needed him. He had the best chance he'd ever get to judge me, get me completely under his thumb. I could hardly kill him – he was the only one who stood any chance against the bird. That meant the only obstacle left for him was deniability – that I could simply deny I'd ever done that. So, he was going to get rid of that in the best possible way. He was going to make me confess.

And the worst part? Even knowing all that, even having realized what he was planning, I had no way out. If I didn't play along, he'd just refuse, and that meant my death.

Damn it. At any other time, I would've at least been able to appreciate the craftsmanship of the cage he'd crafted around me. Sure, it was meant to trap me, but it did its job damn well. But now, of all times?

And yet regardless of how dire the situation was, I still had no recourse.

I sighed. "Okay. Fine. In that case… let me tell you a story."

"go ahead," he said in an eager voice.

And I told him. I told him what I'd done. I told him that I'd killed everyone over and over. I told him that the bird had shown up at the end. And most importantly, I told him of my fight with him, told him how often he'd killed me, told him just how powerful I knew he was.

Even as I spoke, I dreaded what would happen afterwards. What would he say? What would he try to get from me? I figured he'd probably help me – he didn't seem like the kind of person to just leave me to die – but at what cost?

But I didn't tell him everything. I wasn't that stupid. I still left out my identity – he didn't need to know I wasn't actually the kid who'd fallen down here. And he most certainly didn't need to know what I'd done to them.

When I was done, he stayed silent for just a moment, as if to make sure that I was finished. Then, he said. "um. wow. so… you don't think that might've been a bit, uh…"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I know… You're going to lecture me now, right?"

"well, i mean, wow," he said. "i dunno if you're aware, but it's generally not considered acceptable to murder everyone."

"How stupid do you think I am?"

He just shrugged. "well, why, then?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"i mean…" he elaborated, "people generally do stuff for a reason. ya know?"

"…yes?" I said, though I had a feeling about where this was going. I hoped I was wrong, but I doubted it.

"well," he said, "what's yours?"

Of course he'd ask that. "What's it to you?"

"i mean… when someone kills all my friends and family, i tend to get curious about why they did it."

I locked eyes with him, thinking as I did that I'd give anything to not have to look up at him right now. His face still bore the same goddamned sassy-looking grin it always did. But somehow, there was a hint of immovability to it. It told me, in clearer terms than words ever could, that he wouldn't stop until I gave him an answer.

"Fine then," I spat at him. "You want to know why I did it? Because it was fun. Because I liked it. That's why. That's why I killed the goats, and your little goddamned brother, and the fish he loved so much, and that idiotic dancing robot, and the useless lazy bastard you are. Because I felt like it. That enough of an answer for you, comedian?!"

The room fell silent. Even what little sound filtered in from outside suddenly seemed muted, stifled. If it was any quieter, I thought I'd be able to hear my own heartbeat.

Worry began building inside me. I hadn't thought before saying that. I said it on an impulse, a desire to show him that he wouldn't be able to do as he liked that easily. And now, the silence just gave me time to contemplate how he'd respond. Honestly, it seemed like there was a good chance he'd just kill me now. And even if he didn't, I was still probably in for a bad time one way or another.

Maybe saying that was stupid. Maybe I should've given some thought to my words before speaking. Maybe I shouldn't have let my emotions override my reason. Maybe I should've tried to make myself seem more likeable, try and make it more likely that he'd agree to help.

But damn, he'd really pissed me off. I didn't take kindly to being interrogated. And honestly, considering what he'd tried to get out of me, I found it hard to regret my decision.

The silence was first broken by the sound of him letting out a slow breath (somehow). His eyes were open wide, and locked onto me. "what is wrong with you?" he finally said.

"I don't bloody know. You asked me a question. I answered. What more do you want?"

"how the hell…" He paused for a moment, and then said, his voice uncharacteristically raised, "how the hell did you think that was alright?!"

I shrugged. "Well, it hardly mattered, did it? All I had to do was reset and bam, it's all gone. I mean, it's hardly like anyone's dead now, is it?"

"so as long you can just reset away, it doesn't matter?" he asked. "is that it?"

"Yes."

For a moment, he looked almost… angry. It wasn't an expression I'd ever thought to see on him, and it looked uncanny at best. But then he bit back his fury, and his face shifted back into its ever-present grin. Even that, though, looked like it barely concealed a seething rage just beneath the surface.

"so you just did it because it didn't matter?" he asked, clearly struggling to keep his voice calm.

"I guess," I responded. Honestly, now that I thought about it, why did I murder everyone so many times? Oh, what I said to him had some truth in it. The first few times were certainly motivated by little else than just fun. But after that, I never really enjoyed it anymore, not for the most part. The fights against the fish and the comedian were still fun, of course, but the rest just started feeling like a slog. I'd still gone through it, because I wanted to beat him without getting hit, but… even back then, that reason felt shallow to me. Was there something else to it?

"well, i don't know if you noticed," he told me very, very coldly, "but… it matters now."

"Thanks," I said. "You got any other groundbreaking news for me? Maybe you'd like to tell me that Snowdin is cold?"

He stared down at me. Somehow, even with his grin still on his face, he managed to look very serious, and very intimidating. But I was past caring at this point.

"well, ya said you can't reset anymore," he said, his eyes not moving off me for a moment.

"Not quite," I corrected. "I can just only reset back to right after her death."

His face didn't shift. Not one bit. "undyne."

"Yep."

"so she's gone now."

I still had, somewhere in the back of my mind, a bunch of complicated feelings about that to sort out. But right now, I was too preoccupied with being angry. "Yeah. So? I had nothing to do with it."

Anger flooded back into his face. He was still keeping up his grin, but it was strained as all hell. We stared at each other for a few moments. No one said anything, but the tension in the air was palpable. I could almost feel the hate flowing through him, and I was pretty certain he was getting the same feeling from me.

And then, suddenly, the lights in the room turned off. Darkness enveloped me, and it was so absolute that it would've made no difference if I was blind. I whirled my head around on pure instinct, to look for the comedian, but it was in vain. I couldn't see a thing.

Then, in just a moment, they came back on, and the sudden contrast blinded me with light. I blinked a few times, more or less clearing my vision, and looked around once more. The comedian was nowhere to be found.

Damn it. How dare he?! Who the hell did he think he was, just storming out on me?!

I walked over and tried the door. It was locked. Of bloody course. He'd decided to lock me in here, like some misbehaving child. Damn that freaking comedian!

Well, that was it. I was stuck here, with no one to help me, and there was an evil birdman chasing me. I doubted the walls would hold him for long, but they sure as hell made sure I had nowhere to run.

Anger filled my mind. I stomped over to the mattress, gave it a good, hard kick, and sat down on it. I growled.

"Well, thanks a lot, comedian," I barked into the empty air. "You little prick. I'm just sorry I didn't hurt you enough in the other timelines."

I sat there for a while, steaming in anger. But my anger didn't last. I tried to hold on to it, even knowing that it was childish, but as time passed, it faded. And finally, I sat on the mattress, dejected. Now that the fury wasn't clouding my vision, I realized how badly I'd messed up. I'd let my emotions take control. I'd let go of my reason. And now I was here, alone, with no one to help me, completely defenseless against the bird.

I looked down at the ground. Somehow, I didn't feel all that afraid. There was certainly fear somewhere there, in the back of my mind, but mostly, I just felt… resigned. Perhaps I could still reset, but it was just as likely that the bird had already done whatever it was he did and trapped me in this timeline. And the thought of trying scared me, because as long as I didn't, I could at least have some hope. But if I tried to reset and failed… well, I'd know for sure I was doomed.

God, it was stupid. But I really, really didn't want to find out.

I'll just wait for a bit more _,_ I told myself. Just... relax, rest for a moment. And then I'd try.

"Heh," I chuckled sadly, staring down at the ground. "Guess this is what I get, huh?"

It was true, really. I'd just admitted to slaughtering all the monsters over and over, and now I wanted their help? Really, I couldn't blame the comedian for tossing me to the wayside. I'd have done the same in his place.

The corners of my mouth twitched upwards a little. It was almost funny.

"hey."

This time, I actually did jump from surprise. I ended up falling over backwards onto the mattress and whacking my head on the wall.

I turned my head to the side. The comedian stood there, standing next to one corner of the mattress, just behind where I was sitting.

"You startled me," I told him, as if it wasn't strikingly obvious.

He didn't say anything. He didn't even face me, though at least his eyes were looking to the side in my direction.

"Look, I'm sorry," I said.

"about what?"

I would've shrugged, but I was still lying down. "Everything, I guess. All the killing. All the previous timelines."

He finally turned around to face me. "cool. you think that fixes it?

"No," I said.

For a moment, he just looked at me. His expression seemed... surprised. A bit confused. And oddly solemn, too.

"You know what's funny?" I said.

"what?" he asked. And I could swear it was just a bit less aggressive than how he'd been speaking to me before.

"In my previous runs, I killed the Captain over and over again," I told him. "Never felt anything. And now that she's really gone, I… I sorta miss her." I didn't know why I'd decided to tell him that. It just felt right.

He said nothing. I was pretty sure it was a cue for me to keep talking. "You know, I never really even considered the possibility before. I never thought she'd ever die… you know… forever. Hell, I didn't think anyone would. It always seemed so… so impermanent, you know? Like nothing would ever have any consequences, like I could just erase anything I didn't like."

I paused for a moment. But he still didn't say anything, so I decided to continue. "And now, she's dead. And… now, I can't help but wonder what would happen if I'd done things differently. You know… what if I didn't murder everyone? What if I actually tried to befriend her?" I turned away from him and stared up into the ceiling. "I mean, I never really thought about any of that before. And now that I can't do it, I can't help but be curious what would've happened if I did."

"wonder what she'd think of that," he said.

I chuckled, a little sadly. "Probably nothing good."

Somehow, telling him about it made it feel… a little better. Like it was just a fact of life now – still sad, sure, but nothing worth crying about. She was nothing but a memory, now, yes, but at least a fond one. And there was no use staying bitter.

The room stayed silent for a moment. And then, he said "so, ya still need my help?"

I looked at him once more. "You offering?"

He said nothing, just glanced at me knowingly.

For a moment, I just lay there. And, honestly… it didn't feel quite so bad anymore.

Then, with a little grunt, I pushed myself up and off the mattress. "Can you let me out?" I asked him.

"what are you talking about?" he asked. And it wasn't that cold, calmly angry tone anymore. It was just… the comedian. As he always was.

I raised an eyebrow, confused, but just for a moment. Then, it clicked. I gave him a little smile, walked over, and pulled the door's handle. It swung open, and I stepped outside.

I still couldn't afford to be unprepared. I still needed to make sure I was ready for when the bird came for me. I knew that much.

But… some things were more important than that.

I retraced my steps. I went back out of Snowdin, to the deep blue rocks and rushing water of Waterfall. I went back down the twisting paths. Back to one particular location.

The dust was no longer there. Someone must've removed it for the monster version of a burial. But that was fine. I still needed to say it.

I knelt down besides the spot where she'd died. And I whispered, quietly, a few words. They were words I'd said before, many times. But I'd never really meant them before. They were always either just a tool or just a conversational piece.

Now? I still wasn't sure if I truly meant them, as such. But at the very least, I meant something.

"I'm sorry."

I thought for a moment.

"…Undyne."


	16. Rise

I swallowed. It hurt to kneel there. It hurt to be reminded of what I'd lost. It hurt to know permanence, to know that what happened now had consequences.

But I had to. It wouldn't be right to turn away. I didn't know why I thought that, but I did. It'd be wrong to turn my back on it just because I didn't like it. It'd be like running away. And besides... the Captain deserved this much, at the very least.

No, wait. That was wrong. I corrected myself.

Undyne deserved this much, at the very least.

It hurt to think of her like that, too. Suddenly I was all too aware that she was a person too, just like me. Suddenly I was all too aware that she had friends, too, and probably some family, somewhere. And suddenly… suddenly I was all too aware of how she felt back when I'd killed everyone around her.

I swallowed, again. It would've been easy to keep thinking of her as the Captain, or the fish. Just another monster, just another nameless face in the crowd. Sure, a face that was different than all the rest, a face that gave me pause. But still not a person. Still just a face.

But… I couldn't. Not now that she was gone. Not now that what I did mattered. Not now that I knew, all too well, what she felt like.

With a shuddering breath, I stood up. For a moment more, my gaze was fixed on where she'd died, and then I turned away and began the long walk back to Snowdin.

I didn't know why Snowdin, exactly. Maybe it was the feeling of safety, the sense of security that being surrounded by monsters would bring. Or maybe it was something else. Maybe, with the two skeletons being there, and with how welcoming I remembered their house being… maybe the town just felt like home.

Ugh. Why was I having these thoughts now? It was stupid. Now, more than anything, I needed to take action. And here I was, contemplating about things like the value of life and how I'd been dehumanizing monsters and how Snowdin felt a bit like home. Was the permanency making me sentimental?

The answer was obvious almost before I'd finished thinking the question. Yes. Yes, of course it was.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, a cold, logical voice told me that that, too, was stupid. Maybe I wouldn't be able to change my feelings, maybe I would feel sentimental whether or not I wanted to, but my actions didn't have to reflect that. After all, I needed to beat the bird. I couldn't let anything get in the way, and if my emotions were an obstacle, I just had to go around them. I had to be absolutely, utterly ruthless, do anything in my power to crush the bird. It was the only way I could be sure of victory.

But even after all that, even after I'd accepted it in what ways I could, the Captain – no, Undyne – no longer being there felt like a deep pit in my stomach. It didn't outright hurt or drive me to tears, not anymore, but it still felt… wrong. And I knew I'd always feel that there was something missing, something off.

And I remembered how it felt to pour my heart out to the comedian. Beforehand, if I'd even slightly thought about the idea, I'd probably dismiss it as silly. And I'd think that if I did, one day, do it, it'd only be because I had to, and it'd be one of the most humiliating things I'd ever do.

Yet now that I'd actually done it, now that I actually knew what it was like, it didn't feel like that. If anything, it felt… good. I didn't know why, but somehow, just the act of telling someone what had been eating at me felt like it'd lifted a massive burden off my shoulders. It didn't make sense – he hadn't even responded to me, not really. But just having someone to listen, someone to hear me out while I put it into words… it made it easier to face.

Damn it. I'd always thought of the comedian as a foe, as an obstacle to be overcome. And now… now I didn't even know what I thought of him.

I stepped into the town, still tormented by my thoughts. It was so much easier back then, back when I'd just been killing everywhere. It was so much simpler. All I'd had to do was walk down the same route I'd already walked down over and over again, killing all the people I'd already killed over and over again. There was never anything confusing, never anything new to worry about.

And yet, now that I thought about it, I hadn't really enjoyed it. Oh, the first few times were fun enough; it was satisfying to have power, to be able to do whatever the hell I wanted. But with every repetition, it grew duller. It grew more and more stale, more and more boring. Yet I did it anyway. Why?

It was a question that had crossed my mind a few times. Never this clearly, thought. It was never anything more than a passing thought before, a passing thought I quickly shoved away and ignored. I tried to do that this time, too – just push it out of my head and forget about it. But I couldn't. The thought tore at me, and it wouldn't let go.

And, I realized with a start, I knew why. I knew why the question had suddenly come to me so clearly. I knew why it refused to leave my mind this time. I knew why I wanted so desperately to have closure, to know the answer.

It was because I knew the answer. It was just that, for a while, I'd refused to accept that it was the answer. But now, now that I thought about it, now that I truly knew what it was like to do something different…

I realized it. The real reason I'd killed everyone over and over again. The real reason I'd continued committing genocide even long after it no longer brought me any sort of joy. The real reason I'd been so loath to spare even a single monster, to show mercy even once.

Because it was all I'd ever known.

Because it was what I knew. Because it was safe. Because it was easy. Because I didn't have to worry about what would happen – I knew everything ahead of time already, after all.

Because I didn't want anything to change. Because I didn't want to step down from my throne. Because I didn't want to let myself not know something, even for a moment.

Because I was scared.

And… damn. Was I really unjustified in that? I'd tried something different, and this was where I'd ended up. Hunted by a murderous bird-person, my capability to reset taken away from me. Short of a minor miracle, there wasn't a thing I'd be able to do to save myself. Maybe I was right. Maybe I should've just stuck to what I knew.

A memory of how it felt to talk to the comedian flashed through my mind.

Dammit.

Well, one way or another, I was stuck here now. Whatever I might've wanted, whatever I might've thought I should've done differently, it didn't matter. I was in this timeline now, and it wasn't going anywhere.

And if this was all I had now… if this was the timeline that mattered, the one I'd be stuck in forever… then did I really want to waste it just doing the same thing I'd always done?

Once more, I thought back to my talk with the comedian. To how it'd felt to just lie there and talk. To how it'd felt to let all my pent-up worries and fears and emotions out into the world. To how it'd felt to have someone to listen to me. To how it felt to just… spend time with someone else. No strings attached, no ulterior motives, no plans running through my head. Just a quaint little moment.

Despite the biting cold, a pleasant warmth blossomed within me. And a quiet longing to feel that feeling once again filled my mind.

Because it'd felt good. It'd been a nice, happy moment. For that one, little instant, there was no stress, no frustration, no anxiety. Just comfort and warmth and a sense that, really, everything was going to turn out alright.

Damn it. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. It was supposed to be a temporary thing, just a brief alliance between me and the monsters until the bird was dealt with. And now… I didn't know what this would turn into. I didn't know what would happen next.

And that scared me. I'd always been in control. I'd always known the whole script ahead of time.

And now there were possibilities, millions and millions of possibilities for how the future would turn out. And I didn't have any bloody clue which path everything was going to take. And it was scary.

But… oddly exciting, too. To not know, for once, everything that would happen. To break away from the formula. To have that sense of adventure again. It was scary, and I was anxious, and I wanted to curl up into a ball and go back to when everything made sense… but even more than that, I wanted, desperately, to know what happened next.

Hah. It was funny. It was what I'd avoided for so, so long, it was what I'd railed against the very thought of doing… and now, I could hardly bear the thought of not finishing it.

Maybe I was wrong after all. Maybe it'd been stupid to do the same thing all those times. Maybe… maybe I should've tried this sooner.

Well, the decision was made for me now. One way or another, this was happening.

I walked over to the skeletons' house and knocked on the door. I wasn't quite sure why I went to them again, exactly. Perhaps the place had gained some good associations for me. Perhaps I just wanted to get out of the cold and their house was the closest building I knew. Or perhaps it was just that being there meant I'd be closer to the comedian, and that made me feel safer.

The tall brother answered me, opening the door with his usual cheerful grin on his face. "OH! HELLO, HUMAN!" he said. "WOULD YOU LIKE TO INSPECT THE HOUSE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS?"

I rolled my eyes. Right. That was why I hadn't liked this idea. Sighing, I said "Just wanted to visit for a while."

"AH! AN EXCELLENT CHOICE!" he said. "WELL, COME IN!" And with that, he stepped aside, still holding the door open for me. I stepped through, and he shut it behind me, trapping the warmth of the house inside. It was nice to be away from the cold.

"Thanks," I said. My eyes fell on the sofa, and I walked over to it and let myself fall into its soft embrace.

"YOU'RE WELCOME, HUMAN!" he said with a deep bow. "MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME!"

"Yeah," I nodded.

And then I glanced to the side, a sudden thought coming to me. He… was being nice to me. I hadn't ever done anything for him. I've never shown anything but annoyance towards him. And still, he was talking to me like I was a good friend of his.

It felt wrong. It felt wrong to have someone act like that to me, not when I'd done all I had. He didn't know it, of course. That was the only reason he was being so nice. But still, having the same person I'd wronged so much and so many times talk to me like a friend felt… wrong. Like I was just living a lie, like I didn't really deserve it.

And if he was willing to be like that… then at the very least, he deserved to know something.

I wasn't going to tell him everything, of course. But I said "Oh, and by the way…"

"HM?"

"I'm sorry, Papyrus." I hoped I'd gotten the name right.

He glanced at me, a puzzled expression on his face. "FOR WHAT, HUMAN?"

I looked to the side again. "I did something bad," I confessed. "Something I shouldn't have. Sorry."

I looked back at him, meeting his eyes. I still wasn't going to tell him too much. But... I knew I should apologize, at the very least.

He tilted his head at me, but he didn't push. "I SEE. WELL, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, HUMAN!" he said. "WHATEVER YOU DID, I'M SURE IT WASN'T THAT BAD!"

I smiled. "Thanks. But… it sort of was."

"HM…" he said. "WELL, THAT'S OK! I'M SURE YOU CAN STILL MAKE UP FOR IT, WHATEVER IT WAS!"

Hah. Really. Now that was a thought.

I closed my eyes and chuckled a bit. "Thanks, I guess."

For a moment, there was silence. But it wasn't awkward or tense or anything like that. There was no feeling that we were just waiting, our breaths baited, for someone to do something. It was just… a pleasant, quiet moment. Because there was nothing that needed to be said quite at that time.

Damn it. It really did feel so nice.

And I'd killed this skeleton time and time again in my other runs. And now, he was being nice to me. Telling me it was alright, though he didn't even know what I'd done. Telling me I could still be a good person.

I'd killed the comedian over and over too, and he'd been the one to listen to me when I needed it. I'd killed the lizard over and over, and she'd helped me get through Hotland, helped me get a leg up on the robot.

And I'd killed the Captain – no, Undyne – over and over again, too. And now she was dead. She was really, truly dead. She'd died because she was a good person. She'd died because she didn't just leave the bird alone, didn't just decide to stay away from him. She'd made the choice to oppose him, to stand against whatever it was that he was planning.

That was why she'd died in the other runs, too. Because she was a good person. Because she'd stood against me. Because she didn't want to let me hurt anyone else.

She was a noble and brave and kind person. And I hadn't even batted an eye at that. I'd just killed her, like all the rest.

And now, someone else had done the same thing. Only now, it actually mattered. And now, it felt wrong. It felt unjust. It felt like something that shouldn't have happened.

She hadn't deserved to die. But I had never cared about that. Not until it was too late.

…

I'd always known I wasn't a good person. I just hadn't ever cared. But now, I suddenly realized that it wasn't just that I didn't care. It was that, before now, I'd never understood. Not truly. Oh, I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that what I was doing wasn't good, that I was hurting people. But I'd never really thought about it.

And now I was being forced to. And I hated it. I was being forced to consider what it was like, what it was like for all the people I hunted, what it was like for all those whose friends I killed. And it felt horrible.

And, I reminded myself, it'd all happened. And it'd all happened because of me.

I felt disgusted, somehow. Disgusted by myself. Disgusted by what I'd done.

Some part of me still told me I shouldn't have been. That I'd never cared before, and that there was no reason to start now. That it didn't even matter, that it was all in bygone timelines. That now, of all times, I had more important things to worry about.

But… I couldn't ignore it. I couldn't ignore how it felt. How it felt to understand, truly understand, just what I'd done over and over again. To truly understand how they all felt.

I swallowed. I couldn't ignore it. So...

"Hey, Papyrus," I said, trying to keep my voice from trembling. "I… need to tell you something."

"YES, HUMAN?" he said.

I took a deep breath, gathered my courage, and said "Okay… so. I've got a special power."

I stole a furtive glance at him, half-expecting him to make a comment. The thought was oddly worrying, despite how little sense that made.

But he remained silent, so I continued. "I can… sort of..." I tried to work out a way to say it that wouldn't make me sound too insane. I failed. "Control time. Well, in a way. I mean, not really control it, but… I can just… go back to a specific point. Just make things return to the way they were a while ago, and no one but me remembers that the previous timeline even existed."

I looked up at him again, though I hadn't even realized I'd looked away. He didn't say anything, but he had that expression that was basically the skeletal equivalent of a raised eyebrow, and I could see the cogs turning in his head.

"And, uh, I…" I said, and then floundered. "Um… Look, uh… this… isn't the first time we've met. I mean, back in the forest – you remember when your brother pointed me out to you, right? Well, that wasn't actually the first time we've met each other. Not really. I've… already met you in different timelines, timelines I've gone back on. This wasn't even close to the first."

"SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS…" His expression twisted into a contemplative frown – and then, into a perfect picture of cheer. "YOU'RE REALLY ALREADY GREAT FRIENDS WITH ME!"

I looked away from him and down at the floor. Oh, god, I didn't want to say this. I so didn't want to say this.

"I… I'm afraid not," I said, trying not to let my voice show the anxiety and the stress I felt. But it didn't work. I just sounded very nervous, and very afraid. "I-in the previous timelines, I… I…"

I swallowed. Oh, god. Oh god, oh god, oh god. Why did I do this? Why did I admit anything to him?

"I've never had this conversation before," I finally managed to say. "I've… I've never really talked to you before. Or… or anyone, for that matter. I… I just… just…"

My eyes darted around the room like those of prey desperately looking for an escape route. But I found something else instead. I saw the skeleton's face. His eyes weren't suspicious or betrayed or worried like I expected. There was just understanding there. Like he was worried, yes, but only for me. Like he didn't want me to feel bad about it. He saw my floundering, he saw how scared I was of talking about this, he had every reason to be suspicious… and he was only concerned about me.

"I… I…" I looked down at the floor again. "I killed."

And suddenly, the world seemed to freeze.

I hadn't even really intended to say that. A rush of sheer panic struck me, and wild scenarios of what would happen ran through my head. Visions of the skeleton shouting at me, of him telling me how I'd betrayed them, of him swearing that he'd never talk to me again, of him telling me to get out and never come back.

The moment stretched into an eternity.

And he said nothing.

In disbelief, I looked at him again. His eyes were wide, and shocked, and betrayed. But… he said nothing. And as sad as he looked… there was a desperate hope there too, I saw. A desperate hope that maybe it wasn't that bad, that maybe I was an alright person after all.

He still believed in me.

"I… I killed," I stammered out once more. "I killed so many. I killed them all, every single one of you, over and over again. Your brother, and the Captain… and you… and… and…"

I looked back down at the floor. My vision blurred, and I felt something wet at the corners of my eyes.

Silence.

For just a moment, there was silence.

It was the most terrifying thing I'd ever been through.

"W-WELL…" the skeleton finally said. "TH-THAT'S… NOT WHAT I EXPECTED."

He paused for a moment, and then spoke again, forced cheer in his voice. "BUT, WELL… YOU HAVEN'T HURT ANYONE YET THIS TIME, RIGHT? SO WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS ALREADY!"

I looked at him again, blinking tears out of my eyes. "H-huh?"

"I MEAN… THIS TIME AROUND, YOU HAVEN'T HURT ANYBODY. RIGHT?"

"Uh." I turned my gaze down a bit. "Y-yeah, I guess…"

"GREAT!" he said. "SEE? YOU CAN STILL BE A GOOD PERSON! YOU JUST NEED TO WORK ON IT A LITTLE. THAT'S ALL!"

I met his eyes, my mouth hanging a bit agape. For a moment, I was too stunned to even speak. He couldn't really believe that. He couldn't. There was no way.

Finally, I stammered out "R-really?"

"BUT OF COURSE!" he shouted, in that larger-than-life voice I'd always known him to use. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALWAYS MEANS WHAT HE SAYS!" He took a few steps towards me and offered me a hand.

For a moment, I just stared at him in disbelief. Then, I flung myself from the couch and threw my arms around him. He hugged me in return, and I fell into his warm embrace.

More and more mist crept on my vision, no matter how much I blinked, and I felt my throat getting tight. I heard a few choking sobs from myself, and I felt something slide down my cheek…

And then, for the second time that day, I cried.


	17. Hunter and Hunted

I wasn't entirely sure how long it lasted. For what felt like hours I could do nothing but helplessly sob in Papyrus' arms, my face pressed into his armor. I clutched onto him even tighter, and he drew himself closer in response. It was a gesture of affirmation, his way of reminding me once more that he was there for me, that he cared.

My eyes widened when I realized that, and for just a moment, I was too stunned to even cry. And then the tears fell once more, in greater force this time, and a smile spread onto my face. His embrace was warm and kind and comforting and… and being in it, I was the happiest I could ever remember being.

God. I didn't deserve him.

I wasn't aware of the passage of time, not really. For those moments, me and Papyrus were the only things that existed, and I was perfectly fine with that. So I didn't know how much time it was until, finally, the flow of tears calmed, leaving behind nothing but a sensation of something prickling at the corner of my eyes and a warm smile on my face.

Still, I held onto him. He didn't pull back or try to break away or anything. He just saw that I wasn't quite ready to let go yet, and so he didn't let go either.

It took only a few more moments until I finally let go of him. He waited for a heartbeat, just to confirm that I was fine now, and then, gently, he released me too.

I took a step back, a dumb smile plastered on my face. When I looked up, I saw the exact same thing on his.

I chuckled a bit. "Thank you."

"YOU'RE WELCOME, HUMAN!"

My smile edged up a bit more, and another chuckle escaped from between my lips. "You're a good person, Papyrus. Sorry about… you know…"

His smile never faltered. "IT'S ALRIGHT."

God damn it. How many times had I killed him? Now, the idea of doing that seemed utterly unthinkable. But I hadn't really known him before, had I? Back then, I'd always isolated myself from everyone, just like back when I was alive. I never talked to anyone, and even when people tried to talk to me, I just filtered it all out. I'd always considered it useless and unimportant and silly.

But that hug was useless. It was unimportant. It was, to one degree or other, silly. And it was the best experience I'd ever had in a long, long time. Maybe ever. There was beauty to be found everywhere – even in the smallest and most inconsequential of things. Hell, perhaps especially in those things. I'd just chosen to never see it before.

And so, I'd destroyed it. Over and over and over again. Never stopping to think about what I was doing, never really considering the implications. I just walked through everything with the same amount of thought that one would put into swatting a fly. I was too busy being proud of being above it all, of being unaffected by all the things I considered the domains of the naïve and the immature.

Of course, I'd never stopped to consider why, exactly, they were the domains of the naïve and the immature. I was just always certain that they were because… they were.

And at the end of it all, even when one of the people I'd destroyed learned of what I'd done, even when he knew I'd stomped all over his ideals and ground him into the mud, even when he knew I'd killed him and all his friends… even then, even when I was down and at my lowest, he didn't kick me further down into the abyss as I would've in his situation. He just reached out and helped me up. Regardless of what I'd done in the past.

Maybe he was naïve after all. But after that, I sure as hell wouldn't hold it against him.

"It's not," I said, shaking my head. "But thanks anyway."

"NO, HUMAN!" he protested. "MAYBE YOU'VE MADE SOME BAD DECISIONS, BUT… THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T BE A GOOD PERSON!"

I chuckled yet again, casting a sad little glance at the ground. "Okay. Whatever you say."

He still thought I could be a good person. God. He really was naïve.

And yet… and yet… why not? I was stuck in this timeline one way or another. I was stuck in the timeline where everyone was alive, where at least one other person knew of my powers…

Where there was someone who believed in me.

And for some reason, I didn't want to disappoint him. I hated to think of how it'd be like for him if I broke now, if I lapsed into my former habits again. I dreaded to know what he'd think of me, what he'd say. And the image of his face twisted into disillusionment and bitter sadness… it hurt. It hurt to think about.

Because he cared. He wanted what was best – for him and the monsters, yes, but for me too. I could see it. And though I may have killed them all over and over again, at least I was always upfront about it. Doing it now… it would just be betrayal.

I ran the scenario through my head. If I were to kill again, what would happen? What would be everyone's reactions? What would they all think? What would they say, what looks would their faces bear?

And… what would be lost? Who would perish who was just as good-natured and genuinely kind as Papyrus? Who would lose their friends, their family, everyone they ever admired? Who would watch everything fall apart around them like I had when the bird had slain Undyne?

I thought about it. And as I did, I began to doubt that I'd be able to bring myself to do it again.

And if I was right, then… this was it. It wasn't a temporary distraction before I just settled into the old routine again. It wasn't an unpleasant chore to trudge through so I could get back to doing what I liked. It was permanent. Even if I somehow got out of this timeline – even if I managed to break whatever spell the bird had laid on my resets – I wouldn't be able to do what I had done before again. Not now that I truly knew them. Not now that I understood them as people. Not now that I had felt just what they had.

It'd just hurt too much. It'd hurt to know I wasn't just killing monsters – I was killing people. People with their own lives, their own feelings, their own emotions and hopes and fears and dreams. People who would never before have imagined that one day, their lives would be snuffed out by someone on naught more than a whim.

Of course, I knew that before. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I always knew that monsters were people like any other. They were just like me, appearance notwithstanding. But I'd never thought about it before. I'd always simply accepted it as fact and sent it into the deepest depths of my mind, to never resurface again.

Except now, I was thinking about it again. Now, I realized what that meant. Now, I didn't merely know they were people – I understood it.

And now that I did… I didn't think I'd be able to slaughter them again. Even if I wanted to.

I met his eyes once again, hopefully without looking too furtive. "But… thanks, again. Uh, actually, I…" There was one more thing I had to do. "I need to go talk to your brother. Uh… see you later."

Wait, no. I couldn't think of him like that anymore either. His name was… Sans, right?

"ALRIGHT! SEE YOU, HUMAN!" Papyrus cheerfully said. "MAKE SURE YOU DON'T DO ANYTHING BAD, OKAY?"

I smiled at him, a little sadly. "Okay." And then I walked up the stairs and went towards the door to Sans' room.

I knocked on it a few times. But if I had to guess…

"hey, what are you doing?" The voice came from somewhere behind and to the right of me. Of course.

"Hi," I said. "Just trying to get you to come over here." I turned towards him. "I mean, it worked, didn't it?"

"what are you talking about?" he asked. "i was standing right here."

I frowned at him. "That can't be right. You sure?"

" **dead** certain," he said, winking.

I put my chin in my hand in mock contemplation. "I'm afraid you must be mistaken."

"now, now," he said. "i'm pretty sure i'd know where i've been."

I smirked. "Not necessarily. There are all sorts of nasty things that can mess up your memory, you know?" I leaned towards him as my smirk turned into a full-blown grin. "You could always be insane. Might be thinking you were here, when really, you were somewhere else entirely. Or maybe you bumped your head and got amnesia? Maybe you just don't remember anything since the last time you were here."

I leaned away and let my grin fall back into a more subdued – but still arrogant – expression. "I mean, really. When you think about it, all sorts of things could've happened. I mean, wow. If you don't even know where you were, that's really worrying, you know?"

He paused for a moment, looking up at me with a grin that, I could swear, was a bit wider than usual. Then he said "welp. in that case, i guess you're just a figment of my imagination. thanks for the information, but no point in talking to you anymore. sorry." Then he overdramatically turned and took a very slow and deliberate step away.

"Wait!" I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He froze in his tracks and looked back at me.

"oh," he said, a tone of complete surprise in his voice. "guess you are real."

"Yep," I nodded. Then, I smiled a little and shook my head. "What was I thinking, trying to outwit you?"

He half-closed an eye. "outwit? what are you talking about?" But before I could even try to answer, he waved a hand dismissively and said "eh, whatever. so, what're you here for?"

I took a deep breath. Right. Our little game was good and all, but I was here for a reason.

"I just wanted to say something," I said. "Mind if we step into your room first, though?"

He looked at me with concern for a moment, then shrugged and opened the door. He stepped through first, and I followed.

The room was just as indescribable as before.

I closed the door behind us. I did want this to be private, after all.

"Okay. So…" I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"you already told me that," he noted.

"I know," I replied. "But… ugh. Look, this'll take a bit to explain, OK?"

"sure," he said, and hopped onto the couch. He sat leaning against the wall, his hands behind his head.

"So… I know I already said sorry. But, uh…" I paused for a moment, trying to think of how best to get the point across. "I've, um, been thinking since then." His eyes grew a tiny bit wider. I still wasn't sure I dared tell him that I'd told his brother what I'd done.

"And… you know…" I said, "I realized something. I mean, back then, back when I first said sorry to you, I… I didn't really mean it. I mean… I didn't even really understand back then. I didn't really understand how… how big it all was, you know? Like… I didn't really see how much what I'd done had affected people."

I paused for a moment. God, I was not used to these topics. I felt like at any moment I might just start stuttering like the lizard. "But, uh… I thought about it since then, you know. And… you know… I realized just how badly I'd hurt all of you guys. I mean… I sorta know how it is to lose someone, now. And I know how it feels to fear for my life. So… I get how terrible I was being now. I know what I was putting everyone through now."

"So, uh…" I continued, "I'm sorry. I know, I know, it sounds stupid, but… really. I'm sorry."

Silence. For just an instant.

"well, i mean…" he said, "that's nice and all. but, uh… you going to do it again?"

"No," I said, instantly.

He just looked at me. It was a piercing gaze – not the intimidating sort, though. It made me feel like I was being silently judged – like he was looking at me and seeing my soul. Like he was seeing everything of my essence and my mind and all those things that made me who I am, and he was just combing through them for whatever skeletons in the closet he might find. (Hah. Skeletons.)

And it was an expectant gaze, too.

I swallowed. I'd made promises before. Well, no, that was wrong. I'd made a promise before. Once, when I was still alive. And that'd caused consequences that still resonated today.

I supposed I'd kept that promise, technically.

And now, it was pretty clear what he wanted. He wanted me to promise. He wanted me to swear to him that I'd never hurt anyone else again.

A promise, huh. A few hours or so ago (from my perspective), I doubted I would've even batted an eye at that. I'd have just made the promise and then immediately forgot about it. I sure as hell wouldn't have kept it.

But… I couldn't. Not anymore. Not now that there was someone who believed in me. Not now that there was someone who thought I wouldn't do that.

 _And besides_ , the coldly pragmatic part of my brain told me, _if you break it, he's always free to revoke his assistance._

So… that was what it came down to. A promise. A promise that I'd have to make and live by – or not make, and live with whatever consequences that brought on.

To not hurt anyone ever again. It was a big thing to promise. After all, it lasted forever. I could never go back on it. If I accepted, that was my life now. That was how I'd have to live – forever.

And, of course, that wasn't the only reason, either. The condition itself was hardly light. On the surface it seemed innocent, but… what about self-defense? After all, with my resets cut off, I could hardly just keep trying for a diplomatic solution. And besides, at the end of the day, there were people who deserved to be hurt. The bird had, directly or not, killed the fish, and I sure as hell wasn't letting him walk away with that.

The irony of that thought hit me a moment later. But it wasn't like people hadn't tried their best to kill me back in my previous runs.

And yet, I knew what he wanted. He wanted his friends to be safe. He wanted to know I wouldn't massacre the Underground once again. And, hell, at the end of the day, he was probably at least a bit concerned for his own safety, too.

I understood that. Honestly… I didn't want to go massacring the Underground again either.

But somehow, I doubted that'd be enough. And I also somehow doubted he'd let me get away with adding some qualifiers for all the cases where I needed to bend the rules.

So, I compromised in what way I could.

"I promise," I said. "I promise I won't kill anyone ever again." And I made sure to emphasize that _kill_.

There. Nothing said about hurting people. Just so long as I didn't kill them.

He narrowed his eyes at me. For what felt like minutes, he stared at me, boring into me with those empty, dark eyes. It was an intimidation tactic – meant to make me worry that my promise wouldn't be enough. Knowing that helped, but it was still nerve-racking. I met his gaze and kept my expression carefully neutral, but I couldn't stop nervousness from flooding my brain, and my heart started to race.

He continued staring. I felt my pulse accelerate.

He continued staring. I felt myself tremble a bit.

And finally, he said "heh. alright then." His face settled back into its ever-present vacant expression. "i'll hold ya to it."

"Yeah," I said, my throat dry. "Got it."

A moment passed. Then, he said "so, you got anything else to say or…?"

"Uh… no, not really," I said. "I just… wanted to say I'm sorry. Really. I am."

"got it," he said. "well, bye, then. let yourself out, would ya?"

I shrugged. "Sure." I turned around and tried the door. It was locked.

"Comeeedi-" I growled, only to cut myself off. "Saaaans…"

His eyes went wide. For a moment, he froze, and then his face slowly faded back to its usual expression. Then, he chuckled, a pleased note in his voice.

"whoops," he said with a tone of perfect innocence. "must've forgot to unlock it."

"It was unlocked when we came in," I pointed out.

"my room only locks from the inside," he said.

I went still for a moment, trying to process the sheer stupidity of that. Finally, I said "That… makes no sense."

"yes, it does," he said.

I sighed deeply. "Alright. Sure. Can you let me out, though?"

He very deliberately stepped over to the door and, without using a key, opened it. I stared at him in frustration for a moment as he held the door open for me, then growled under my breath and walked out of the room. I heard the door slam behind me the moment I stepped through, regardless of the fact that even if he intentionally slammed it, there was no way he could've done it that quickly.

I stopped dead in my tracks at that and sighed. And then, as I thought about it, I smiled. After all, I couldn't fight the comedian the usual way anymore – but a battle of wits? Well, that'd prove to be interesting.

I smirked as I started walking back towards the exit of the house, making a mental note to keep that in mind. It'd be a curious little competition, that was certain.

I got to the door and froze.

So, uh… what now?

I realized suddenly that I'd got so caught up in all the emotional stuff that I had no idea what I was actually going to do next. I didn't have any particular plans or anything…

Well, the bird was still out there. And my resets were still being restricted. And though in the back of my mind I still knew how dangerous that was, for whatever reason, I didn't really feel particularly afraid anymore. Maybe it was just because I'd had some time to think about other things and take my mind off it, but whatever the case was, I didn't immediately balk at the thought of confronting the bird like this anymore. And as long as I didn't figure anything out, my resets were staying shut down. And that, really, made my goal pretty clear. Step one, figure out why I couldn't reset. Step two, get my resets back. Step three, figure out what to do about the bird.

Now, to try and figure something out. Which, unfortunately, was easier said than done.

I looked around the place. Waterfall? I'd checked around there already. Maybe not perfectly, sure, but I had. The path back towards the Ruins? I hadn't been around there in a while, but it hardly had many places to hide. The Ruins themselves? Actually, a pretty good location, but I'd have to figure out how to get back in there, which would be difficult. I'd check them out later if I didn't find anything elsewhere. The forest?

Wait a moment. The forest.

I'd never actually been to the denser parts of the forest. Not in this run, and not in any of my previous runs. And with all the trees and snow and the simple fact that no one ever went there…

It was a perfect place. The only better one I could think of was maybe the Ruins, but even then, the goat was still there. The forest was about as isolated as any place in the Underground.

And besides, even if there was nothing there, it'd still be a good place to clear my head. So, I set off into the forest, a confident smile on my face.

It disappeared soon after I went in. Suddenly, I realized exactly why no one went here. Trudging through the snow was… exhausting. The snow in the other parts of Snowdin was nowhere near this bad. Every step felt like it took an eternity. My legs sank up to their knees in the snow, and that wasn't even in the worst parts of it. Even after all the physical activity I'd done in my many past runs, my legs soon started feeling like someone had attached lead weights to them. The forest was dense as hell, too, and I could scarcely see anything past the ring of trees immediately surrounding me at any one time. There were no landmarks or anything to aid with navigation, either. Even with my footprints ensuring I wouldn't end up walking in circles, it'd be damn near impossible to find anything here.

Still, I persevered. All of that just made it more likely the bird would hide out here.

And then I heard a voice from somewhere to my right.

"Finally."

I'd never heard that voice before. But I'd heard one like it. Not, perhaps, in terms of the voice itself – but the tone was unmistakable. It wasn't just a cold, unfeeling tone. Anyone could do that. It was the utterly dead, lifeless tone of someone who'd been cold and unfeeling for a long, long time.

It was the tone of the emotionless.

I'd heard it before, occasionally, when the flower got serious. But this was unmistakably not the flower. Whatever this… thing… was, its voice was far too deep, too menacing to be the flower's.

My head swiveled around. The source of the voice was hard to make out through all the trees, but I saw it. It looked somewhat like a knight – or rather, a knight's armor. Even from here, I could tell there was nothing underneath, and the armor itself seemed to be made out of some transparent yellowish substance. Magic. The bird's magic.

Then, the knight raised his hand, and an utterly enormous sword made of the same yellowish substance materialized therein. I heard trees rustle as the sword cut through their branches, and a moment later, the thunder of bits of wood and piles of snow hitting the ground reached my ears.

With that same lack of emotion or feeling that colored his voice, he locked his eyes onto me and brought his sword into a combat stance.


	18. Proved in Battle

About a million thoughts rushed through my head in an instant.

First of all, he didn't seem to be particularly fast. Of course, I hadn't exactly had a lot of time to analyze him, but just judging from how ponderously he'd brought his sword to bear, I was pretty sure he was relatively slow. Of course, it was entirely possible he was just playing it up for dramatic effect, so I still had to keep my guard up – but there was a good chance.

But that wouldn't matter. I was up to my thighs in snow, and I'd find it hard to even walk, much less dodge. Of course, he was likely in the same situation, but that meant nothing. The snow completely negated any sort of advantage speed and agility would've granted, and with that taken out of the equation, he held every advantage left. That sword looked like it could cut me in half with a single blow, and I somehow doubted he'd be easy to kill himself. But that hardly mattered either, because really, what was important here was reach. He could attack me from all the way over there, and if I wanted to hit him back, I'd have to get to him first – and trying to do so in this snow was plain suicidal.

Nor, of course, could I run. The snow prevented that just as effectively as it prevented me fighting. If I tried to run, I'd just get cut down while I tried to trudge through the snow.

In other words, the snow prevented me from doing just about anything that could save me. That made my next course of action clear.

I was surrounded by trees. And though the thicker, more formidable branches had their own mounds of snow piled upon them, most of the smaller ones had gotten away with nothing more than a light coating. So, I swiveled my head around, spotted a tree near me with some branches relatively low to the ground, and–

Holy hell.

I reflexively pulled my hand back from the icy cold of the tree's snow-covered bark. Holy hell, it was cold.

But that left me back where I started. I dared to glance back at the knight for a moment and found that he'd prepared himself to take a swing at me. Well, at least I was right. He was, in fact, rather slow. But I was a sitting duck, and that sword would still kill me in one good hit, moving slowly or not.

I gritted my teeth, and–

Argh. It didn't feel any less cold the second time around.

But this time, I managed to hold on, and even grab on with my second hand too, though both of them were starting to feel more like blocks of ice. Pulling myself out of the snow took some effort, but I managed relatively quickly, and was left clinging to the tree in a spider-like pose.

I heard the sound of rushing air above me as his sword cut through the tree I was hanging onto, not too far above my head. The sword continued, passing through the place I was a moment ago and leaving a trail of fallen trees behind it. A cacophony of sound erupted behind it as the trees it cut down fell to the ground, and it all blended together into a single, deafening roar. Thankfully, the part of my tree that he'd cut down had fallen down on the side opposite me, but the crash it made as it fell was so loud that it nearly startled me into falling off anyway.

I tilted my head to the side, letting me look out from behind the tree. The knight's head swiveled to face me, the rest of his body staying absolutely still, and then he readied himself for another strike. I hid my head behind the trunk of the tree again and clambered up it as quickly as it could.

Which was all too slow. Unless I was forgetting something, I was pretty sure I hadn't climbed a tree before, or even done anything similar. The theory was simple enough, and I slowly made progress – thankfully, I had quite good endurance from all the things I'd done in my past runs – but it felt painfully sluggish. At any moment, I expected to hear the swing of the knight's sword and fall into inky darkness as it took off my head. Panic filled my mind, and I couldn't stop myself from trying to hurry more than I knew I should've, which only made my ascent even clumsier. The climb felt like it took an eternity.

But clearly, it hadn't taken as long as it felt like, because my head was still attached to my body by the time I eventually emerged on top of the stump the knight's slice had left behind. A moment later, I heard the sword swish through the air again and cut through the already bisected tree I was standing on, a few centimeters beneath my feet. I exhaled. That was way too close.

The very top of the stump started sliding off, and I alongside it. Twisting my head around, I spotted a tree that hadn't been cut up quite as badly, and even had some low-hanging branches left. If I got lucky, I figured I could jump over and grab on to one of them. Admittedly, those branches had more snow on them than I was comfortable with, but it was the only choice I had. I started running towards the edge of the little platform of wood I was stood on, but since it was still sliding, I nearly lost my balance and fell. Fortunately, I managed to awkwardly stumble back to my feet, get a running start once again – though a shorter one than I would've liked – and leap off the platform at the last moment before it slid off the remains of the tree. For a moment, I thought I wouldn't make it, but I managed to reach out and–

"Sss!" I swallowed the noise before it could come to anything more than a hiss. Good thing I'd had so much practice enduring pain, because otherwise, I was pretty sure I would've screamed.

Okay, holy hell. The tree itself back then was cold, but… it was nothing compared to this. The feeling of sticking my hands in the snow felt something like the equally painful opposite of touching them to white-hot metal. But somehow, I managed to cling on to the branch without falling. I probably had my practice in enduring pain to thank for that, too.

But I was in just as bad of a position to dodge anything from here as I was back in the snow. I needed to get up onto the branch, but it was caked in snow too. That would make swinging up onto it a difficult proposition, and even if I did get up onto it, my mobility would still not be good.

I bit my lip. Well, I had an idea, but… this was not going to be pleasant. At all.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and shook the branch as hard as I could. Considering the fact that I was hanging on to it, that wasn't very hard, but it was enough. The snow went cascading off of it and onto the ground – and a lot of it hit me on the way. Snow poured down my sweater, trapping the cold inside with me. The sheer avalanche of frost running down my back caused a sudden flare of pain that felt as if my skin was being peeled off, only to replace it with simple numbness a moment later. Some of the snow melted into freezing water, which proceeded to soak into my clothes and cling to me, making it all even worse.

I didn't scream. But only because I was trying really, really hard not to.

Trying my best to ignore the fact that I was utterly freezing to the point of pain, I swung myself up and clambered up on top of the branch I was hanging on to. With the snow gone, it provided me more mobility than anywhere else I'd been during this fight so far.

Considering the fact that it was still a branch, that said more about how unfair this fight was than anything else.

The knight readjusted his gaze to look upon me once more and raised his sword over his head with both hands. With his usual, mechanistic movements, he slowly started bringing the sword down vertically over my head.

Oh. I'd been planning to try and jump over his next swing.

Well, that was it for that particular plan. Which was an issue, since it was my only one.

But, really, an overhead strike wasn't all that hard to dodge. My instincts screamed at me to get out of the way as soon as possible, but I waited until it was close enough that he wouldn't be able to shift his aim before pressing myself up as close as I could to the trunk of the tree.

The sword passed by in front of my face. Holy hell, it was big. For a moment or two there, I could see nothing but the yellow of the blade.

Fortunately, I was unharmed. Less fortunately, the blade had cut off the branch only a few centimeters away from my feet, leaving me stuck on a tiny outcropping of wood.

This day was just getting better and better.

Well, it wasn't the end of the world. If he tried a horizontal slice, I could probably jump over it. If he went for another overhead attack or a stab, I could always just jump off and back into the snow. True, that'd hardly bode well for my future, but at least it'd keep me alive for a moment.

I looked at the knight, watching his actions intently.

Then his sword evaporated into a fine yellowish mist. It was replaced by an enormous spear, made of the same magic as the sword.

He could do that too, huh. Great. Just what I needed.

He thrust the spear in my direction. Compared to the sword from before, it moved startlingly fast. Apparently, switching to a comparatively thinner and lighter weapon let him strike faster.

Usually I hated it when things didn't make sense. In this case, I hated that they did.

More on pure instinct than anything else, I leapt from my little platform, landing in the snow. It cushioned my fall, so it didn't really hurt. After all the bad things that had happened to me so far, that was almost surprising.

He readjusted his aim and prepared to strike again. I looked around, trying to make sense of the thoughts frantically racing through my head, and…

…

…oh, hell. I had no way out of this.

There was no way I was getting away with that latch-onto-a-tree trick again. It'd only ever worked in the first place because it was at the very start of the fight, when he hadn't quite settled into the rhythm yet. Now, he was already preparing to attack, and with a faster weapon to boot. If I tried to do that again, I'd just get skewered.

Unless…

A glimmer of hope flashed through my mind. The spear had a conical head, which meant only the point was sharp. If I got hit by the side of the spearhead, it'd be unpleasant, but not fatal.

Of course, I still couldn't exactly move with my legs stuck in the snow. But only my legs were stuck in the snow, and he wasn't aiming for those. So, I simply twisted my body to the side as far as I could and mentally braced myself for the impact.

Unfortunately, since I was still stuck in snow, I couldn't exactly twist around very far. The point missed all of my vitals, but it did nick my side, bringing with it a sharp needle of pain. That was okay. I'd gotten quite used to that feeling in my many fights with the comedian.

A moment later, the rest of the spearhead slammed into me.

Fortunately, it was, as I'd expected, blunt – no magical sharpening or anything like that. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt. With the knight's strength behind it, it felt somewhat like running into a wall at full speed, except the other way around.

Intuitively, it felt like the spear shouldn't have been able to move me. Yes, logically, I knew it had an enormous amount of force behind it and would easily overcome whatever resistance the snow offered – but the snow around my legs just felt so utterly immovable that, in the less rational parts of my mind, the idea of the spear knocking me around was unthinkable.

Clearly, the spear didn't care about my feelings. The blow sent me careening away through the air. Weird as it may be, it actually felt somewhat good. After all the trudging through the snow I'd done, having the wind rush past my face as I flew away at high speeds was a nice change of pace, even if I had no control whatsoever over my path.

But I only had time to enjoy it for a few moments, because then, I landed. In the deep snow. Face-down.

Thankfully, I'd closed my eyes a moment before the impact. But, of course, it was still cold as hell. After all the being cold I'd done recently, though, it was more an annoyance than anything. I raised my head a bit, opened my eyes, and looked around.

Well, the good news was that the blow had knocked me closer to the edge of the forest. Here, the snow wasn't quite as bad. Not by much, admittedly, but at least it was something.

What was better, though, was that it'd knocked me away from the knight, too. That gave me time. He wouldn't be able to get close enough to attack me for a while, and while he plodded towards me, I could try and get some preparation done. Or at least come up with a plan.

A sound came from somewhere to my left, far away from me. I twisted my head towards the source.

At this distance, it was hard to see him clearly, but it was unmistakably the knight walking through the snow. With each step, his feet struck the ground hard enough to cause a crash that resounded throughout the forest, the echo reaching my ears from every direction at once. The soles of his boots crushed the snow as easily as if it hadn't even been there, and though his legs were caked in a fresh blanket of white flakes after every step, he didn't even seem to notice the additional weight as he steadily walked onwards toward me.

For a moment, I simply stared. "Oh, that's just not fair," I grumbled to myself.

Then, I scrambled to my feet. Thankfully, my landing had left a convenient Chara-shaped depression in the snow, which gave me a little room to maneuver. Since he still wouldn't be here for a bit, I also took the time to stomp around the edges of the pit, thus flattening the snow there too and expanding my area of movement a bit. It still wasn't much, but I'd take anything.

The knight stopped, still a long way away from me, and opened a hand. A huge yellow longbow materialized within, alongside a quiver full of arrows on his back.

My thoughts, at that moment, were mostly just scrambled feelings of frustration. But perhaps they could be summed up as: _Are you kidding me…_

He nocked an arrow and took aim at me. Fortunately, the arrows, while still oversized, were much less so than his other weapons, and I thought I had a chance at dodging them. I waited, trembling, until I saw him release the bowstring, then desperately threw myself to my right.

I landed outside my little flattened area and got to experience the feeling of my face being covered in impossibly cold snow for the second time this day. Well, at least this time it was only half my face.

Fortunately, I'd managed to dodge the arrow. An instant after I landed, it crashed with pinpoint precision into the spot where I just was, an enormous crash commemorating its landing. I would've covered my ears, just on pure instinct, but my arms had landed in snow too, and I didn't manage to get them out fast enough. Instead, I got the full brunt of the sound. From this close, it was so loud that its sheer volume completely drowned out any of its other qualities, and all I could hear was a deafening roar of noise. To make it worse, it echoed, too, turning what should've been just a momentary explosion of sound into a drawn-out, painful din. When it finally stopped – by which time I'd managed to pry my arms out of the snow – I immediately checked my ears, fully expecting to find blood seeping from them. Fortunately, there was none, but they still genuinely hurt just from that noise, and I heard a ringing from within them that reduced all other sound to a dull afterthought in the background.

Then, I turned my gaze towards the knight. He was aiming another arrow towards me. Great. I gulped, feeling my throat start to get tight. I was lying on my side in snow, which did not leave me with much maneuverability. But I still managed to scramble away and – just barely – dodge the arrow. Its accompanying burst of noise wasn't quite as bad now that I was expecting it, but it still wasn't pleasant.

I found myself, at least mostly, back in the little irregular shape I'd trampled the snow out of. As quickly as I could, I got to my feet and got myself in position to dodge any incoming attacks as best as I could. Finding a position wasn't easy when I was limited to a tiny pit in the snow and had two massive arrows blocking my way, though, and I ended up standing awkwardly between the two of them. It gave me more freedom of movement than anywhere else, but I'd still have to be damn careful to not crash into an arrow while I tried to dodge.

Still, it was the best I was going to get. I locked eyes with the knight, watching for his next move. He reached towards his quiver, closed his hand around an arrow… and then paused. And then shook his head.

"No," he said. "I have humored you for too long." With that, the bow and quiver disappeared, though the two arrows in the ground remained to restrict my movement.

"Oh, you have?" I asked, sarcasm thick in my voice. "I hadn't noticed."

He walked through the snow towards me, showing the same complete disregard for its restrictive nature as before. "You are more resourceful than I expected," he droned, his voice completely flat. "Trying to attack from a distance was a mistake."

My heart sank. "Oh," I said, the realization making its way through my mind. He'd figured that I'd just keep dodging if he kept trying to hit me from far away… so he was going to just walk up to me, where I'd have no space to dodge, and kill me that way.

For a few moments, my eyes were locked on to him in stunned realization. Then, I noticed what was in my peripheral vision.

I looked around and smirked. But of course. I couldn't outrun him over snow – but I didn't need to. All I had to do was get to one of the trees all around us before he got to me, and with the kind of head start I had, that wouldn't be hard.

I turned towards one of the trees, shot a cocky smirk at the knight, and trudged towards it. It wasn't too long before I'd reached it, and when I did, I grabbed on and started climbing. It was a bit easier, now that I'd done it once before, but that didn't really matter. With how far away he was, I could take my sweet time. After all, if he tried climbing a tree, I was willing to bet it'd just snap, and I could just jump to another one.

After a few seconds, I got onto a branch with little more than a light coating of snow sprinkled over it. There wasn't nearly enough snow there to restrict my movements, and I could reach a few other branches if the knight tried anything. And if he really felt like going all out, I was pretty sure I could jump to a few other trees from here, too.

I crouched on the branch, looked down at the knight, and smirked, satisfied with myself. He stopped dead in his tracks, looked up to meet my gaze, and let his enormous greatsword materialize in his hands once again. Hah. I could dodge that easily from here.

He brought the blade low, held it horizontally outwards from himself, and spun around, cutting down all the trees in a huge area of the forest. Including the one I was standing on, and all the ones anywhere near it, too.

Oh.

The tree started falling to the ground, the side I was on going first. Oh, hell. In a panic, I jumped at the trunk, grabbed on, and managed to make my way to the other side. I held the trunk as tightly as I could and braced.

The impact hurt like hell, even through the wood. But I'd been hurt like hell before, and sheer blunt force was nothing new. I rose awkwardly but swiftly to my feet, looked around, and chuckled. He'd tried to trap me in the snow by doing that… and all he'd done was grant me a bunch of bridges to easily jump between in the form of the fallen trees.

I grinned at his approaching form. I couldn't quite help myself. "Hah! Well done!" I said, and leapt to one of the other trunks lying on the ground by way of demonstration. "Nice tactic!"

He froze in his tracks and locked his eyes onto me once more. Then, he let his sword fade and replaced it with his spear. He thrust it at me, but I'd expected it. I quickly leapt to one of the other fallen trees. Without missing a beat, he struck again. I didn't expect him to follow up that quickly, but still dodged, acting purely on instinct this time. Unfortunately, that meant it was a sloppy jump with no preparation behind it. I got out of the way of the spear, but I didn't get to the next tree, and fell into the snow.

I looked at him. If he tried to hit me with his spear again, I could do what I'd done before. If he tried something else, the time it'd take him to switch weapons would be enough for me to make it to one of the trees.

With a firm, deliberate kick of his leg, he sent a small mound of snow flying at me.

I blinked in surprise for a moment before trying to dive out of the way. But I was still mired in snow, and so the additional snow he'd sent flying at me hit me head on.

I didn't expect it to hurt. On second thought, I should've. There was a lot of it, and it was sent by him, of all people. But somehow, the notion of snow actually hurting felt alien.

Regardless, the impact not only hurt, but also knocked me to the ground, covering me in the snow he'd just kicked. I tried to get myself out of it, but he kicked another pile of snow at me. It added to the weight, to the point where even just having it on me was starting to get painful. I clawed at it, but it felt like I was making painfully little progress.

Clearly, he decided he wasn't quite done yet, because he kicked even more snow at me. This time, it landed over my face, sending me into darkness. I took a few panicked breaths and found, thankfully, that my prison wasn't airtight, but being in it still sent a sort of quiet desperation throughout me. I shoved at it, trying to get out of my impromptu burial, but it was fruitless. A few times, I'd suddenly felt even more weight pile up on me – most likely, he was kicking on even more snow to keep me down. I wasn't sure, though, because I couldn't see – and that simple fact sent me into somewhat of a panic. I was able to keep it under control, but it was a raw, primal fear, and I couldn't calm down completely.

Finally, after what felt like hours, I got all the snow off of my face, letting blessed light seep into my eyes. I blinked, looked around, and…

Found the knight standing right next to me.

I barely even had time to register what I was seeing before he kicked me in the ribs. It wasn't a particularly hard kick – barely more than a flick of his leg. But it was him doing it, and so that little motion felt like a locomotive crashing into me. I was sent tumbling away from him – not far, only a few paces. Or at least, a few of my paces: he cleared the distance in a single step.

The good news was, the snow covering me had fallen off when he'd kicked me. But I was still lying in snow, and with the knight looming over me, I didn't have much time. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized that trying to get up was a fool's errand – there was no way I could do it that fast. But the panic that filled the rest of my being took over, and I found myself frantically scrambling to my feet anyway.

I made almost no progress before he just placed his foot on my chest.

Just like that. He wasn't leaning on it. Hell, I could tell from his bearing that he was placing barely any of his weight on it. But it was more than enough to push me back down to the ground, and while I struggled for a while, I realized only a few moments in that there was nothing I could do. He was simply far, far too heavy for anything I did to have even a chance of dislodging him.

My ribs felt like they'd crack at any moment. Pain and exhaustion permeated my body. But those were all familiar feelings. And I had to do something.

Desperately, I reached into my pocket, drew my frying pan, and swung at his foot. It hit him, with that solid _clang_ that comes with hitting two hard things together. But for all that he reacted to the impact, he might as well have been a statue. So, I struck him a few more times. He showed no reaction. None whatsoever.

That is, until, after a few swings, he reached down, grabbed my right arm in his mailed hand, and simply squeezed.

It wasn't the first time I'd had my arm broken. It wasn't the first time I'd felt my bones snap, breaking into pieces like glass under a hammer. I'd felt it a few times before, when I'd gotten particularly unlucky during one of my previous runs.

But it still wasn't something I was used to. No, no, no. For now, at least, whenever it happened, I got to experience it in all its agonizing glory.

I screamed, a shrill shriek that resonated through the forest. He let go of my arm, and it fell limply to the snow.

"You are pathetic," he told me. For the first time in this entire bloody battle, something resembling a tone had slipped into his voice – a sort of bitter disapproval. I wanted to respond, but between the pain, the stress, and the simple fact that it wasn't easy to come up with a retort in this sort of situation, all that came out of my mouth was a spiteful hiss.

He cocked his head at me. "Hmph. Do you even understand that you're about to die?"

And in that moment, suddenly, I remembered.

In the chaos, I'd forgotten about the very real danger I was in. It was just a fight like any other – just like the dozens I'd had in my previous runs.

But it wasn't. If I died here, then… that was it. I was dead.

The thought was an ice-cold knife through my mind. What would happen then? What was waiting for me? Eternal agony? Eternal darkness? Or… or…

Just nothingness?

Somehow, that thought was the scariest of all. It terrified me, on a level beyond the logical and striking directly into my heart. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to be away from here. I didn't care about the price. I didn't care about my broken arm. I didn't care if I had to give up everything I ever had to do it.

I just didn't want to die.

He raised his hand, and before I knew what I was doing, I gasped "No! Wait!"

He stopped and glared down at me. "P-please!" I stammered. "W-why are you doing this?"

He froze, for just a moment. Then, he let just a bit more of his weight rest on the foot on my chest.

I wasn't sure of the extent of the damage it did. I just knew that it hurt like hell. I managed, just barely, not to scream. A desperate, pained gasp came out of my mouth instead.

And at that same time, I realized something.

 _Oh god_ , I thought. _He's going to kill me. He's really going to kill me._

All of a sudden, it all flashed through my mind. My first fall into the Underground. Being found by the goats – no, by Asgore and Toriel. I remembered Asriel, too. I remembered how I'd tried my best to avoid being around him, how I'd tried my best to avoid being around anyone. I thought it'd be stupid. I thought only idiots needed friends.

How bloody wrong I was.

I remembered our plan. I remembered wanting to do something, something for which I could be known, something for which I could be remembered. I remembered imagining hearing people shout my name and praise me as their savior as me and Asriel, in one body, walked through the town. I remembered imagining telling everyone _And you thought I'd never get anything done!_ And I remembered, more than anything, the burning desire inside me to kill humans, to feel mine and Asriel's magic tearing through them, to take my vengeance upon them.

Of course, none of that came to pass.

I remembered my first death. I remembered trying my best to keep from breaking down, constantly reminding myself that it'd all be OK, I'd just be living with Asriel now. I remembered my second death, too. That time, I did break down. Only Asriel knew, but inside his soul, I spent my last moments crying and sobbing and praying, desperately, for something, anything to save me.

Nothing did.

I remembered when I first awakened inside the child's body. I remembered turning away in disgust as they went on their way, calling them a naïve idiot for trying to befriend everyone. I remembered thinking that they were a fool, that when everyone was trying to kill them, those people deserved death in response.

And I remembered the first taste of power.

I remembered the first time the kid killed. It made me feel powerful, made me feel strong. Even just watching from the sidelines, I could feel the satisfaction as the monster crumbled to dust, as righteous vengeance was carried out. I wanted more. I needed more. And for a while, the kid obliged. Until they didn't.

Then I claimed them.

I took over their soul. I took over their body. Their dark skin changed to the pale tone of mine. Their blue-and-purple sweater changed, turning into the green-and-yellow one I always used to wear. They were mine. I was them, now. Their mind no longer existed – it was only me, reborn. And now I had power.

I used it. Ruthlessly. Now, all of a sudden, I remembered exactly how many times I'd killed everyone. 13 times. Heh. Fitting.

And I remembered this timeline. I remembered my promise to Undyne, a promise that I'd never be able to keep. I remembered the simple pleasure of my talks with Sans, conversations that left me with a deep feeling of contentment that I'd never experienced before.

And I remembered Papyrus' embrace. His warm, loving, kind embrace. His acceptance of me. Despite everything I'd done. Despite everyone who'd suffered at my hands. He was still willing to extend his hand to me.

And I was about to lose it all.

 _Why now?!_ I thought. _Why now, just when it could all change?! Why is it all so bloody unfair?!_ It was all changing, now. I wanted to be there to experience it. I wanted to talk to Sans again. I wanted to talk to Papyrus again. I wanted to talk to the lizard, and Toriel, and Asgore. Even Asriel was still there, if he could forgive me for what I'd done in all my past runs. I wanted to apologize to him, to make up for all the wrongs I'd done him. I just wanted to be a good person, for once! I wanted to see what it would all be like without me ruining it! I wanted to LIVE, damn it! I wanted to live!

"N-no! Please!" I said, desperation festering in my mind. "Someone!" I screamed, as loudly as I could. "Help, please!"

I heard a growl from the knight. "I could crush you like a bug at any moment, human," he said.

A tiny hope appeared within my mind. If he could kill me that easily, and he hadn't, then maybe he didn't want to kill me. I clung to the thought as tightly as I could. "W-what do you want?" I said. "I'll do anything. Whatever the hell you want."

He stared at me in silence for a moment. "I-I mean, you haven't killed me yet," I frantically explained. "You- you must want something. R-right?"

A heartbeat passed.

"You did not let me finish," the knight said. "I could simply crush you like a bug at any moment. But…" His massive greatsword appeared within his hand once more. "I think Par will want your head."


	19. Interlude 3

It had all started a few minutes ago.

Really, the fact that Sans was having that thought was already indicative of the fact that something odd was happening. Normally, he kept track of time meticulously. It was one of the things he did just to keep himself occupied. Being occupied distracted him from the sheer existential dread of knowing his timeline could be reset away at any time, but that same dread stopped him from mustering the energy to ever do anything that required actual effort. So, he kept time. He made puns. He got his laughs when he could and simply hoped, desperately, that it'd be different this time when he couldn't.

However, this time, Sans had lost track. The kid's confession had been a curveball, to say the least. And that promise… he felt quite proud of himself for extracting that. He hadn't liked the way they'd phrased it, but he was just thankful beyond measure they'd actually agreed. (It was funny, he thought. They'd probably seen him as cold, intimidating and fearless, back then. They didn't know that he'd been just barely keeping his heart from bursting out of his chest.)

Long story short, it'd all been enough to make Sans forget exactly how long it'd been since he'd started hearing the noises. A loud din had started coming from the forest, a mess of furious sound. Most of the monsters in Snowdin had heard it, spent a brief moment debating whether or not they really wanted to step out of their routine, and immediately decided it was probably nothing. Sans, of course, had had a pretty good guess even back then.

It'd been his worst nightmare from the moment the kid had finished telling him everything.

If they were a normal kid, there really wouldn't be any question about what he'd do. He'd save them, of course. In a subtle, sneaky way that required as little effort as possible, yes, but he'd do it. He was no hero or anything, but he figured he could probably do it – and if he could, well, no reason not to. Besides, it'd just be cruel to leave them to die.

If they'd had determination and could reset, there wouldn't be any question about what he'd do either. He'd stay well out of it. He'd feel guilty about it, no question – but what was the point, really? If anything happened, they'd just reset and be good as new again. There'd be no reason, no reason at all, for him to get involved. If anything, he might've taken a sort of bitter pleasure in knowing that the person responsible for his suffering would die, even if it wouldn't stick. He knew it was wrong, but he found it hard to care.

But… this was different. He had no doubt that they'd been telling the truth back when they'd told him they couldn't reset anymore. That took them pretty firmly out of the _don't get involved_ category, at first glance – they could die like anyone else now. He was probably the only one who could or would help them, and if he didn't, well, that was it for them. If, even after all those resets and all that practice, they were still concerned about whoever it was who was trying to kill them, that person was probably very powerful – powerful enough that they sure as hell would meet a grisly fate if left on their own. All that meant that really, he should've leapt to their defense the moment he'd heard the first sounds of battle.

He should've. But he didn't. Because there was one more nuance.

For now, they were a normal kid. For now, they couldn't reset. For now, if they died, that was it. But would it stay that way? Sans doubted very much that it would. They'd seek a way to get their resets back. And if they did, then it all started over again. Even assuming they intended to keep their promise – and that was a big assumption – they'd never promised not to reset. If they ever gained the ability to reset again, it'd all start again. The torture of knowing that any moment, the timeline would be erased, and he'd never remember that anything had ever happened at all. The torture of knowing that the kid already knew everything that was going to happen, of knowing that the kid was just toying with everyone, and being unable to tell anyone because he couldn't bear spreading that sort of despair. The torture of being nothing more than a bug, observed with curiosity by someone who could do whatever the hell they wanted with him.

If they died now, it wouldn't happen again. If they died now, it was over. No more resets. No more hopelessness. No more torment. Hell, the monsters could take their soul and break the barrier. Of course, they'd have to get it from whoever killed the kid, but as much as that'd be tough, it wouldn't be impossible. They could be free at last – free from the Barrier, and free from the resets. Two inescapable prisons, both of them ones Sans had long ago resigned himself to – shattered in a single stroke. And all it'd take was a single scared young kid's life.

It was a price Sans was willing to pay.

He wasn't happy about it. Guilt clawed at him from the inside, bombarding his mind with horrid, anguished images of the kid's fate. Of them crying in fear and despair and disbelief as magic cut through them as easily as a knife going through butter. Of their last, horrified thoughts as they realized death was coming for them. Of their bloodied corpse on the forest floor, lying there with its face twisted into a mask of anguish. He knew he had no right to force them to face that sort of fate. He knew they'd never even thought it possible before, and he had a pretty good guess of what effect it was having on their mind. He was even willing to consider the idea that they were genuinely remorseful, and that if he did this, he'd forever cut off their chance at redemption and force them to die as the demon they used to be.

He pulled a thick, woolen hat out of his pocket and put it on his head. He closed his eyes and tugged on the hat until it covered his ears, shutting out the noise coming from the forest. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, willing himself to think about something else, to forget about the kid. He'd sealed their fate already – no need to contemplate it.

The hat didn't do its job perfectly. Sound still filtered through – dull, indistinct, but still there. It reminded him of what he'd just chosen to do. Unconsciously, he shot a glance in the direction of the forest, looking through the window next to his bed towards the place where soon, a young kid would lie dead.

He turned his head away, gritted his teeth, and sat, resolute, on his bed.

The next event of note happened soon after. Sans wasn't sure how soon.

Papyrus threw open the door to his room and stepped through, a grin plastered on his face. Of course, there was always a grin on his face, but it seemed particularly cheerful this time. "SANS! OH MY GOD!" he shouted.

Sans looked up tiredly from his chair, pulling his hat up enough to let him hear his brother clearly. His mouth settled into a smile as he saw him. "sup, pap."

Papyrus didn't slow down for even a moment. "I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!"

"oh, of course," he said. "ya've always got a ton of interesting stuff to share. a skele- **ton**." He forced his face into a fake grin. It came naturally. That had been a lame pun even by his standards, but right now, he'd take every chance he had to keep him a little bit saner.

Papyrus' expression fell into a caricature of disgust in the blink of an eye. "SANS," he chastised him.

Sans smiled at him. That was the Papyrus he knew. Good. He needed something, anything familiar to hang onto right now.

Just as fast as it'd changed the first time, Papyrus' face snapped back to its former expression. "ANYWAY…" he said, and took a deep breath. "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE IT! IT'S AMAZING! IT'S WONDERFUL! AND I SWEAR TO YOU, IT'S TRUE!"

Sans eyed his brother. On one hand, that sounded like exactly what he needed at the moment. On the other, it just didn't feel right to be talking about something like that while the kid was murdered in the forest. But… Paps seemed excited to share it. And in that case, Sans sure as hell wasn't going to deny him the opportunity to do that.

"THE HUMAN IS…" Papyrus said, and then paused, dramatically. He made some elaborate gestures with his arms and then shouted, "A TIME TRAVELER!"

Sans froze.

Oh god.

He blinked, slowly, and forced himself to look at his brother. "o-oh. they are?"

"YES!" Papyrus shouted. "THEY TOLD ME ALL ABOUT IT!"

"they did, huh?" Sans asked. It was a dumb question, he knew, but he was still too stunned to say anything meaningful.

"THEY DID!" Papyrus confirmed. "AND THEY ALSO TOLD ME THEY…" He paused for a moment. "DID SOMETHING BAD BEFORE. BUT IT'S OKAY, BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE A GOOD PERSON NOW!"

Sans exhaled slowly. So that was what they'd meant when they'd said they'd been thinking about it. They'd been talking to his brother.

The first thought that went through his head was an utterly irrational flare of cold anger. How dare they? How dare they tell his dear, beloved brother all that they'd done? How dare they tell him about the resets? How dare they ruin his innocence, how dare they bring into his life that which he was better off without?

 _Yes_ , a sarcastic voice at the forefront of his mind told him. _How dare they not lie to him. How dare they not keep him in the dark_. And the worst part was, Sans knew, somewhere deep inside him, that the voice was right. If his brother had shown up in tears, struggling with the horror of knowing that he could be reset away at any moment, then he could stay mad at the human. But… he was fine with it. And if that was the case, what was the problem, really?

That was what cold logic told him. But it couldn't override sheer, raw emotion, and so the deathly cold fire within Sans still burned. But not for long, because a new thought, and a new emotion, quickly came to replace it.

Panic. Papyrus knew the human, now – really knew them, on a more intimate level than just about anyone else in the Underground. So how would he explain away what he was doing? How would he tell Papyrus he was leaving them to their fate, knowing full well that that fate would be death? How would he make him realize that it was necessary, that he was only doing what he had to?

He wouldn't. He couldn't. He'd lie. He'd have to. It was the only way he could preserve what little shred of innocence the kid hadn't robbed Paps of.

He had to. There was no other choice. Or at least, that was what Sans kept telling himself, over and over.

"ISN'T THAT EXCITING, SANS?" Papyrus asked.

"huh?" Sans snapped out of his reverie. "oh... oh, yeah. time traveler, huh? that's... cool."

"YEAH!" Papyrus agreed, excitedly. "THEY'VE GOT TO HAVE SUCH STORIES TO TELL!" His eyes grew wide suddenly. "I MUST PREPARE! I'VE GOT TO SURPRISE THEM WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS' HOSPITALITY WHEN THEY COME BACK! THIS PLACE MUST LOOK WONDERFUL FOR THEM!"

He turned and ran out of the door, stopping once to turn around and shout "AND MOVE YOUR SOCK, SANS!" before continuing right on his merry way.

Sans exhaled a slow sigh of relief. Thank goodness. He hadn't asked.

And, he realized with a start, that meant that, entirely without Papyrus' knowledge or consent, he'd be killing his friend. He'd be killing his brother's friend in cold blood, because it was what was best for everyone else.

It had to be done. He was just glad he didn't have to do it himself.

Hell, it was what was best for Papyrus, too. The kid said they were his friend, said they wanted to be a good person, but how could they be trusted? To them, it wasn't like the monsters were real people. They were probably plotting their betrayal even now, and even if not, there was no way they'd give up everything they'd been doing up to this point. There was no way they wouldn't go right back to toying with people's lives. Hell, they probably wouldn't even realize it was wrong.

But he was killing Papyrus' friend.

He looked down at the floor. He was still doing Papyrus a favor. Even if Paps didn't realize it himself. Even if it ended in tears and misery. It was better than the alternative. It was better than letting Papyrus be betrayed. It was better than letting his brother be betrayed.

He reaffirmed his decision to himself once more. He was going to go through with it. He didn't care that they were finally opening their eyes to their own cruelty, or that they were Papyrus' friend, or that they might still have a chance to do some good. Or rather, he cared about all those things, but he didn't care enough for it to change his mind. He was going to let the kid die.

No. That wasn't right. He wasn't just going to let the kid die. He was going to kill them. Maybe it wouldn't be him casting the magic, maybe it wouldn't be him watching their blood seep out onto the snow in their final moments – but he was killing them just the same. And at the very least, he decided with a grim flash of resolve, he'd admit that fact to himself. He wasn't so far gone yet that he'd try and justify it. Even if by inaction, he was committing murder. It was the greatest sin, the destruction of a life – something so beautiful and wondrous that nothing even came close. And it was a horrible, atrocious thing to do.

It was necessary. It was the only way. It was the only path to freedom – both from the Barrier, and from something far worse. But that didn't make it right.

And Sans was going to do it.

And then something else came from the forest.

A shrill, piercing cry. Indistinct. Faded. Distant. Too far away and too concealed by the forest to be heard clearly. There were words there, Sans heard that much, but he couldn't make out what they were.

He heard the emotion in them clearly enough, though. Terror. Fear. Desperation. Even without hearing the exact words, he knew what it was. A call for help. The call of someone who was genuinely hopeless, of someone who knew that they were dead unless a miracle happened.

The kid was scared.

That realization cut to the depth of his being like an ice-cold knife through his chest. He'd known they'd be scared, of course, but that single scream had made it so much more real. It wasn't just some faraway thing that he could only imagine anymore. There was a kid, right there, in the forest right next to his quaint little town. There was a terrifying monster, right there, in that same forest right next to his quaint little town. And in that same forest, still right next to his quaint little town, the monster was going to kill the scared, screaming little kid.

He shuddered. He'd killed them before, of course – they'd told him that much themselves. He'd even done it personally. But that was different. Back then, it was a fight. Now? He couldn't see what was happening in the forest, but he still knew one thing for sure. They had no fight left in them. At this point, all they wanted was just to survive. They were no threat to anyone, not in that state. And that was how they were going to die. Crying and begging and pleading.

Oh god.

The images Sans had just conjured up shot through his head. Images of the kid, normally so strong-willed and utterly fearless, reduced to a pitiful, pathetic wreck. Images of the monster – images made all the more terrifying by the fact that he'd never actually seen that monster – advancing towards them, slowly, deliberately, savoring their fear and terror. Never images of the moment of death itself, no, but instead images of all that would lead up to it. Of the kid's last few moments, of rivers of tears streaming down their face and unheeded pleas for mercy frantically seeping from their lips.

His breathing grew a little faster. Could he really allow something like that to happen? Could he really let the kid die like… like that? Could he really let them be not just killed, but tormented and humiliated on their way to hell?

He didn't know. But he knew one thing for a fact. He never would've done it himself. No matter how much they made him suffer, no matter how much they tormented him and all his friends, he wouldn't sink to that level.

And that made it obvious, really. It wasn't right. It wasn't proper. And it wasn't something he'd ever do himself. And in that case… he had no right to just stand by and let it happen, either.

He still couldn't let the kid live, he told himself. They couldn't be allowed to get the resets back, no matter what. They were a terrifying tool even in good hands, and in the kid's… he knew what they'd done in the previous runs. He didn't believe that they wouldn't abuse them. He didn't believe that they wouldn't throw him and everyone he'd ever cared about right back into that cycle of suffering. They had to die, no matter how much Sans didn't like it.

But at least he could let them die quickly.

He gritted his teeth, tried to push aside all the emotions in his head, and gathered his will. When he laid eyes upon them, he had to kill them in that instant. If they saw him, if they had a moment to think that he was there to save them… he'd never forgive himself for toying with their emotions like that. And besides, there was the very real risk that he'd find himself unable to go through with it once he actually saw them. He needed to do it quickly, and he needed to do it ruthlessly – but still as mercifully as he could. He just couldn't let his emotions interfere.

He set that thought in his head, forging it into something as solid as steel. It pushed aside everything else swirling about his mind, moving itself to the forefront. He laid out his course of actions in his consciousness, making the entire plan into a single course of action – a course that was already so set in his mind that he could execute it flawlessly without even thinking about it. That was important. He couldn't let himself think about what he was doing until it was done.

Sans took a deep breath, reaffirmed his purpose in his mind once more, and vanished from his room. He reappeared within the forest, far from where he thought he'd heard the sounds of battle – but just close enough that he'd still be able to see it, and affect it. His hand was flung outwards in his attacking stance almost the instant he materialized, deadly energy already pulsing through his body as his eyes swept the scene, looking for where to strike–

He saw the kid.

And in that instant, all that concentration, all that resolve, all the will he'd had to do what he had planned to… it was all for nothing. In that instant, Sans' emotions flooded out like water rushing through a burst dam. They tore through the fortress of cold logic he'd built within his mind, tearing it down to nothing, and suddenly, all he could see was a little, scared kid who needed his help.

The kid laid on the snow. To their credit, they hadn't started crying, though perhaps that was more because the sudden threat to their life had come so suddenly than anything else – but their thoughts were written on their face as clear as day. Their eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and their breathing was quick and ragged. Their hair was disheveled, their clothes and skin coated in snow, their brow covered in sweat. A single arm lay limp by their side, its bones shattered to pieces. They stared, nearly crazed with terror, at their attacker.

The monster stood next to them, a single foot placed on their chest. He looked like an old-fashioned human knight, his armor made entirely of a slightly transparent yellowish substance – one that made it obvious that all there was within that armor was empty space. One of his hands was raised, palm open, his fingers slightly curled, and his head was turned directly toward the kid.

"W-what do you want?" the kid said, so quickly and frantically that the words blurred together. "I'll do anything. Whatever the hell you want."

The knight's head tilted slightly, regarding them with cold malice in his eyes. "I-I mean, you haven't killed me yet," the kid rushed to add. "You- you must want something. R-right?"

A moment passed, a cold instant the suspense of which hung over the forest like a sheet – but Sans thought he knew what the knight would answer.

"You did not let me finish," the knight said, no tone whatsoever in his voice. "I could simply crush you like a bug at any moment. But…" An enormous greatsword materialized in his outstretched hand, easily several meters long. "I think Par will want your head."

Until that point, Sans had simply stood there, frozen to the spot by what he was seeing. But slowly, the blade began moving, its movements ponderous yet still carrying behind them all the surety of a guillotine. The kid stared at it, their fearful eyes growing even bigger, their breath coming out in faster and faster gasps. He thought he could see tears starting to form in their eyes.

And at that moment, Sans didn't have time to think. His instincts decided for him.

Before he even knew what he was doing, his outstretched hand flew to the side, and the energy pulsing within him turned away from its intended purpose. Instead, it coalesced into the depths of his being, flowing into his very soul. With the blade still steadily descending, he couldn't stop himself from hurrying the process as much as he could, though he knew he needn't have bothered – this kind of magic was faster than anything physical could possibly be.

He felt his own magic permeate his soul. It fused with the insubstantial energy that composed it, turning his soul, for the briefest of moments, into an overflowing reservoir of magical power. In that instant, a searing pain cut through him, and he felt as if a furnace had started burning his body from the inside out. But he felt something else, too. With this much of his magic inside his soul, it was no longer simply the essence of his being – not anymore. For that brief moment, it _was_ him. His body, and thus the pain, was irrelevant, now – little more than the shell of the true Sans.

And in that instant, the distance between him and the battle no longer mattered. He could feel the kid's soul as if it was next to him, the determination within manifesting as a pervasive, implacable energy that Sans could feel on a level deeper than any human could have ever imagined. But that wasn't important. He searched for the knight's soul, the power within his own soul coiled to strike. All he had to do was unleash his magic upon the knight's soul and impose his will – and that will would take care of the rest.

He wasn't the only monster he knew with that sort of ability – the ability to impose their will on the very souls of others. As far as he was aware, though, all the others did it on an instinctual level. He was the only one to truly understand the process involved, which, he thought, was probably what gave him the flexibility to do more than just pin someone to the ground.

He gathered up his will, imagining the act of throwing the knight to the side, as he searched for his soul…

And found nothing.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, that registered as being odd. Very, very odd. A monster was supposed to have a soul, and the knight must've had one too. So then, why didn't he see it? Or, if he really didn't have a soul, what did that make him?

But he had no time to think about that at the moment. Instead, he frantically willed the energy within his soul to dissipate, snapping back to reality. He didn't take a moment to look at the knight and the kid. He simply reached for his magic, summoned a Gaster Blaster between them, and fired at the knight.

The kid froze in shock, flinching back from the inhuman skull on pure instinct. When the laser fired, they, just as instinctively, shut their eyes, protecting them from the worst of what would be, at that close a range, blinding light. The knight, for his part, barely reacted – but even he, for just the tiniest instant, flinched.

It was all Sans needed.

At that very moment, he vanished once more. This time, he reappeared right next to the kid. With a swift motion, he grabbed them by the arm and was, once more, gone. They had disappeared alongside him.

Both of them rematerialized in Sans' room. The kid was still breathing heavily, the desperation of that moment still evident on their face. He hauled more than helped them to their feet, taking care to grab them by the non-broken arm, and waited as, slowly, their breathing steadied and they blinked the tears out of their eyes.

"Oh, thank the gods," the kid finally gasped out between breaths. "Thank the gods." They slipped out of Sans' grip and sat down on the bed.

"eh," Sans shrugged noncommittally. "i'm not all **that** great."

They looked up at him, a tired smile on their face. "Heh," they chuckled. "Y-yeah. Thanks, Sans."

And then they slumped against the wall, their eyes fluttering shut, their expression settling into unconsciousness.

Sans looked down at them, thought for a moment, and shrugged. The guy who was planning to let them die probably wouldn't be the best person to care for them. And besides, after all that, he figured there was one person they really needed to see.

He walked to the door, cracked it open slightly, and yelled "hey, paps!"


	20. Respite

_I stood in the golden hallway. Dust lay across the floor, crawling up my legs like a writhing snake. It reached to my chest, where my own blood slithered down from the hundreds of wounds on my body, forming a dozen streams of red across my body. The two substances mixed together, forming a horrific grime that stuck to me, permeating my body and my spirit and my mind. Dust coated my hands like a glove, the coarseness of it cutting into the skin underneath and leaving it torn and ragged._

 _It all hurt. It hurt badly. It hurt so badly that my body screamed at me to just let it collapse, to stop subjecting it to this hell. And I wanted to, too. I knew it wouldn't help. I knew the pain would still be there. Laying down would be a reprieve so slight as to barely be a reprieve at all. But my legs felt like columns of needles were running through them, and they burned under my weight. I wanted to just let myself fall to the ground, let myself curl into a ball, and let my tears flow. It was the only thing I could imagine doing._

 _But I couldn't. Some force forced me to stand, even as I desperately wished to let my legs give out and let myself collapse. Every second, fresh agony shot through my body_ _, bringing with it a new wave of blazing heat. I would've fallen to my knees and dropped onto the ground, but still, that force kept me upright._

 _I looked around, my sight dulled and blurred by the unrelenting pain that ran through me. Hundreds of monsters stood around me, their shapes indistinct, their outlines fuzzy. They were nothing but a sea of color that flooded the hallway. Before I knew what I was doing, before I'd even had a chance to think about it, I stepped forward towards the congregation. There was a monster in front of me. He had barely enough time to sputter out "No, please!" before I cut him down, his body turning into dust at the bite of my knife. All the others stepped back, horrified, as his dust scattered on the floor and mixed with the rest._

 _"No, wait," I tried to say. "I'm sorry." But nothing came out of my mouth. I just stepped forward again. Another monster pleaded for her life, and another monster was cut down. I didn't try to stop myself. Somewhere deep within me, something screamed that this wasn't right, that this wasn't what I'd chosen. But mostly, I just felt tired. So, so tired._

 _A monster stepped forward. Blue scales glistened upon her skin. Red hair billowed outwards in a ponytail. A black patch covered a single eye, and her torso was covered in armor of solid steel. A spear was clutched in her hand._

 _"Demon," she spat at me._

 _I struck. She raised her spear, but the knife simply shattered it on impact and headed unimpeded towards its target. For a moment, I could see her face. Sudden terror spread over her expression, and her eyes were wide in fear._

 _No. No, this was wrong. This was wrong._

 _The knife bit into her flesh, white dust trailing behind it._

 _No. I didn't want to kill her. I didn't want to do this._

 _The cut was diagonal. It severed her head, most of her neck, and some of one of her shoulders. It all fell to the ground, and the rest slumped over. A moment later, it was all dust._

 _No. No. No. She didn't deserve this. This wasn't right. She was a good person. She was a brave person. She was… she was…_

 _Why couldn't I remember her name?_

 _I cut through the crowd, more and more dust falling onto the floor. I felt a maniacal grin stretch over my face, bloodlust consuming my every thought. Something deep inside still protested. Something deep inside simply stared out at the carnage, terrified. But that meant nothing._

 _The dust poured._

…

I woke up.

Which was odd, because I didn't remember falling asleep. But I figured the fight with the knight had tired me out. That made sense. It hadn't exactly been an easy fight, and besides, I'd nearly died.

Suddenly, it felt like my heart had stopped. Oh god. I'd nearly died.

I frantically looked around, scanning for any possible threats. I was in a small room. It was made of wood, and some furniture was scattered around it.

And it wasn't familiar to me. Oh god. Where was I? My mind screamed at me that I was in mortal danger, that I had to get out of here. Who knew where this was? Was I in the enemy's clutches? Were they going to… going to…?

Then I saw Papyrus, looking through some books in the room's bookcase. And all my worries evaporated in an instant.

But damn. I'd gotten that paranoid just from a room. Sure, waking up in a new environment wasn't exactly the least suspicious thing in the world, but I'd been rescued by Sans. He wouldn't have let me be stolen away like that, and any attempt to get past him would've probably made enough noise to wake me up. I shouldn't have gotten that scared. Hell, even ignoring the part where it couldn't have happened, I still shouldn't have gotten that scared. I should've assessed it first, tried to figure out whether or not I really was in danger. I shouldn't have just panicked immediately.

I let out a breath, noticed a lock of hair in my eyes, and tried to brush it away with my hand. But I couldn't feel my arm, and when I tried to move it, nothing happened. For a moment, I panicked again, frantically trying to work out what'd happened. Then it came back to me. _Oh, right. The knight had broken it._ That was… still worrying, of course. But not as worrying as some of the possibilities that had run through my head.

Damn. That brush with death had affected me, hadn't it?

I brushed the stray hair aside with my left hand instead and sat up on my bed. My muscles felt tired and sluggish, and I had some difficulty getting them to respond to my commands, but I eventually managed. The motion was awkward and clumsy, but it worked. "Hey, Papyrus," I said.

He turned around in an instant, and his face turned to unbridled joy the moment he saw me. "OH! HELLO, HUMAN!"

I pushed myself off the bed, noticing as I did that it was one of those racecar beds. I smiled at that. It was silly, but… I should've expected it from him. I felt my bare feet touch the floor, and realized I wasn't wearing my shoes. A quick glance showed me that they were at the base of the bed, near where I was standing. Papyrus probably hadn't wanted to get the bed dirty. I slipped into them, looked around the room again, realized there was nowhere else to sit, and sat right back down on the bed.

I looked at Papyrus. "Uh… so, did anything happen while I was out?"

Papyrus did that thing where he half-closed one eye. "OUT?"

I glanced to the side and sighed. "I mean, while I was sleeping."

He considered it for a moment. "NOPE!" he finally said.

"Alright," I said. "Thanks." I got up again and started walking to the door.

"HOLD ON!" Papyrus called. "UH, HUMAN…"

I twisted my head around so I could see him. "Hm?"

"IS YOUR ARM ALRIGHT?"

I glanced down at my broken arm. Right. That was still something I needed to be worried about. I probably wasn't worried enough about it. Hell, I'd just been about to try and open the door with it. I couldn't let myself forget about it like that. If I did that in a real fight… there could be severe consequences.

"I'll be fine," I said.

Papyrus nodded. "WELL, IF YOU EVER NEED MY HELP, JUST GIVE THE WORD!"

"Alright. Sure." I opened the door – with my left arm – and walked out of the room, closing it behind me as I did.

I leaned against the wall outside the room and folded my arms. Or tried to, anyway. I couldn't, not with a broken arm. That was annoying. Really, really annoying. The worst part was that it wasn't even that hard to fix, not by monster standards. Healing magic was damn powerful, and if it had enough power behind it – or if it was applied in sufficient quantity – it could heal just about any physical damage short of death. But I didn't exactly have access to that, did I? I'd used to – I'd had the pie, and that had had the strongest healing magic I'd ever known of attached to it. But I'd used it back when the robot had zapped me, just because it was a bit too painful for me to move on immediately. In hindsight, it'd been a trivial issue – I could've always just waited for the pain to subside. It wasn't like I was on a time limit – or at least, I wasn't back then.

But I'd been impatient, and back then, I'd still wanted to just get this all done with as quickly as possible. So, I'd eaten the pie, and now I was left without any way to cure the much more serious issue of having my bloody arm broken. It was frustrating, really. I'd been a damn idiot in the past, and now my present self was suffering for it. If only I hadn't been that stupid. If only I had actually thought for a moment. If, if, if.

Well, it was done now. I could wish I'd done something different all I wanted, but with my resets sealed away, I couldn't change the past. Maybe I could've just went back to before the fight and healed my arm that way, but I had a bad feeling that whatever was sealing away my time powers, the bird had made sure to apply it to the fight too. Besides, now that I really knew Sans and Papyrus… it'd just feel weird to erase all these events from their memories.

So, a reset probably couldn't help me here. I needed to figure out some other way to heal myself. Well, it wasn't like food would be hard to find – back during my first few runs, I'd always made sure to pick up as much of it as I could, and I still remembered where most of it was. It would be trivial to go to a few of those spots and get something to heal me. The issue was, though, I didn't think it would be enough. A broken arm was a damn serious injury, and that meant that to heal it, I'd need a lot of healing magic. The pie would've probably sufficed – it'd had so much magic imbued in it that nothing even came close, and I'd never yet seen an injury it couldn't heal. But, of course, I didn't have that anymore, which meant I had to make do with the comparatively inferior food scattered around the Underground – and I had a feeling that if I wanted to heal my arm, I'd need a lot of that. More, I felt, than I'd be able to obtain in a reasonable amount of time.

Damn it. I didn't have time, not with the bird (what was his name again?) chasing me. I needed to get this taken care of, and I needed to get it taken care of fast. But there didn't seem to be any way to do that.

Or maybe there was. Maybe I was thinking about it from the wrong angle. Maybe if the usual method of eating monster food wouldn't work, I needed to think about other methods. After all, there were other ways. I knew for a fact that Toriel could do healing magic on her own, without the aid of anything like food – and if her pie was anything to go by, her magic would probably be powerful enough to heal me. But, of course, Toriel was in the Ruins, and if this was anything like my previous runs, I wouldn't be able to go back there. And I was willing to bet that in that sense, at least, it was – I doubted she'd want me showing up back there again after I went off to what, to her, seemed like my death.

(Maybe it would be.)

I shuddered at the thought and shook my head a few times to get rid of it. Right. Toriel was still an option – I wasn't sure, as such, that the Ruins were locked, and even if they were, I was willing to bet I could get in. Still, I'd prefer to exhaust my other options before trying that one. What were my other options, exactly? Well, I wasn't quite sure. I was certain there would be some – the idea of there being no other way whatsoever to solve my problem just didn't make sense – but I didn't know what, exactly, they were.

Maybe I knew someone who could help with that, though.

I walked down the hallway, basking for a moment in how easy the motion was. It was nice to be away from that ocean of snow. A few paces later, I came to another door and knocked on it. I waited for an instant…

…and then, on a hunch, said 'Stop doing that."

I turned my head, a smirk on my face, to see Sans standing right behind me. I could swear his eyes were just a bit wider than usual. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.

"doing what?" he asked, expertly adapting to the unexpected situation. Or at least, I hoped it was unexpected. It'd be rather embarrassing if it turned out he'd been expecting me to do that, too.

"Pretending not to understand me," I said, never letting my cocky little grin fade.

He raised an eyebrow. (Or, well, did that thing skeletons do instead.) "pretending?"

For a moment, I struggled to come up with a retort. Then, I just groaned and turned all the way around. "Alright. You win. Hi, Sans."

"hey, kiddo," he said. Which was a pleasant surprise – I'd expected him to try to continue the little game.

"So, uh…" I started. "Thanks. Again"

"you're welcome."

I nodded at him. "But I'm still worried about my arm being broken. Could you help me with that?"

He shrugged. "i'm not a doctor."

I sighed. "Yes, I know. I was thinking more that maybe you could tell me how I could get this healed." I thought for a moment. "And I'd rather it not take too long, if possible. I'm still being hunted."

He considered it. "i might know someone."

"Alright, good," I said. "Where can I find them?"

Sans smiled mysteriously. "wait a moment, please." Then he vanished.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I really would've preferred to just get a guide as to where to go, but… I supposed nothing was ever easy with the comedian. Well, he probably had my best interests in mind. Just had to wait for a bit. Besides, I couldn't deny it was sort of nice to not have to go anywhere.

I walked down the stairs and hopped onto the couch on the first floor of the house. I leaned against the back of it, closed my eyes, and waited. It felt… damn good. I'd never really had an opportunity, I suddenly realized, to just… lie back and do nothing for a moment. To just rest. I'd always been doing something, even if it was just thinking – and hell, sometimes the thinking was harder than all the physical stuff. Now? Now I was just… waiting. I could feel free to just relax.

So, I did. I sat on the couch, my eyes shut, and I let the sense of simple, quiet satisfaction fill me. It was… so peaceful. So comfortable. So nice. After a few moments, I let my eyes open – just a tiny bit – and glanced at the book on the table near the bed. For a bit, I debated whether it'd be worth it to get up to go get it and check it out, and then decided it wouldn't be. I just settled back down and took the opportunity to rest when I could.

I heard a door open on the second floor, and footsteps descended down the stairs. That'd be Papyrus. He walked over and sat down on the couch next to me. "HELLO AGAIN, HUMAN!" he said.

I opened my eyes again and turned towards him. "Hey."

"SO, WHAT'S UP?" he asked.

"Not much," I said. "Your brother said he knew someone who could help with my arm… but he's being mysterious about it. Of course."

"AH YES," Papyrus said. "SANS IS… WELL… SOMETIMES, I FEEL LIKE HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SAY ANYTHING DIRECTLY."

I smiled at that. "My thoughts exactly."

"YOU KNOW, ONCE…" he began, "SANS STARTED DISAPPEARING FOR A WHILE ONCE EVERY FEW DAYS. SOMETIMES IT'D BE IN THE MORNING, SOMETIMES IN THE EVENING. HE'D JUST VANISH WITH NO EXPLANATION AND COME BACK AN HOUR OR TWO LATER."

I looked at Papyrus curiously. This was interesting…

"WELL, YOU CAN IMAGINE I WAS WORRIED, OF COURSE!" he said. "AFTER ALL, THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALWAYS MAKES SURE TO TAKE CARE OF HIS FRIENDS! SO, I ASKED HIM ABOUT IT. AND YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID?"

"What?" I asked, smiling. I figured it'd be something really, really vague. That was just how Sans was.

"HE SAID, QUOTE, 'oh, that? don't worry about that. i'm just taking some verte- **breaks**.' END QUOTE."

I chuckled at that. "So? What happened?"

"WELL…" Papyrus looked to the side. "IT TURNED OUT HE'D RECENTLY DISCOVERED MTT RESORT."

I blinked for a few moments, trying to process that. And then I burst out laughing.

I couldn't help myself, even if I wanted to. I'd been waiting for some big revelation, something major that forced Sans to go away, and then… that? I had to laugh. Not like the little chuckles I'd had occasionally when Sans' jokes weren't quite so bad, or Papyrus did something particularly amusing. It was a good, honest laugh, right from the heart, that stretched out for several seconds. And it felt glorious. I was just… happy, right at that moment. It was an odd feeling.

After a while, I finally managed to get myself composed and turned back to Papyrus. "Yeah. Sounds just like him."

"I KNOW!" he said.

I smiled, again. And I remembered. I remembered all the good times I'd had – with Sans and Papyrus, yes, but not just that. All the good times I'd had that I didn't even realize were good back when I was having them. One in particular came to mind. "Hey, Papyrus," I said. "Do you know what actually happened while I was at Undyne's house? You know, after you left?"

He considered it for a moment. "NO," he finally said.

My smile grew wider. "Alright. You're going to like this."

And I told him. He told me some more stories from his life, too, and I gave him a few of mine in exchange. I didn't have as many, of course, not that I could tell him, but I had a few. We sat like that, talking, exchanging stories. We traded smiles and nods and laughs as we spoke. He told me about his brother, about his triumphs and failures, about his friends around the Underground. I didn't have much to talk about, of course, but I told him what I could. And it felt good. It felt good to just sit down with a friend and talk. It felt better than the power I'd had in my previous runs ever had. It felt better than killing the monsters (the thought was nearly unimaginable now) ever had. It felt better than… it felt better than anything I could remember doing in my life.

I really had been doing it wrong, huh.

I wasn't sure how long we were there alone for. I'd lost track of time pretty quickly. But eventually, the door to the house opened with a creak and Sans stepped in. "hey, kiddo!"

"Hi, Sans," I said. "What took you so long?"

He just winked at me. "i was just getting help." He gestured at someone outside the house. "come in!"

A monster stepped through the door. And I froze.

Her gaze turned on me. And she froze too.

I recognized her. I knew who she was. And I realized something else, too. Something that made my mouth hang open in a silent gasp, and sent a wave of panic through my head. Something that told me that my life was about to get much, much more complicated.

The monster stood in the doorway for a while, her all too familiar features staring at me. A wealth of emotion was written on her face.

I looked down at myself, just to check. Yep. Thanks to how long I'd had this body, and how thoroughly my soul was in control, I looked like myself – like Chara. If I wanted to, I could make the body look like the kid's again, but it wouldn't help now. Not now that she'd already seen me.

"M-my child?" Toriel stammered.

Oh, hell. I had some explaining to do.


	21. Dedication

I willed my heart to not beat quite as fast. It didn't work.

"Uh," I said. "Hey, Toriel…"

She rushed to me, her eyes wide. She placed a gentle hand under my chin and faced me towards her, letting her get a good look at my face. For a moment, I could see her take in my features, and then she went absolutely still. I could see tears poking at the corners of her eyes.

"C-C…" she stuttered, and I seized her by the wrist. It was a bit harder of a grip than I'd intended, but she stopped.

"Not around them," I whispered, leaning towards her. My voice came out harsh, frantic. I hadn't meant for that to happen. I considered it for a moment, and then added "…Please."

She paused for a moment, concern in her face. Then she slipped her arm out of my grasp, turned vaguely in Sans' direction, and said "Uh…" Her tone turned to something that, while clearly emotional and joyous, managed to still be oddly dignified. "Would you, please, leave us alone?"

I was impressed. Really, really impressed. I'd known Toriel pretty well back in my first life, yes, but that was on a personal level. I knew her as a friend, as my caretaker, and, I guessed, as my adoptive mother (though that still felt weird). I'd known, in theory, that she had to be a strong woman, considering her status, but I'd only rarely actually seen her acting in her official capacity. So to see her rebound from all that had happened in the last few seconds so quickly and manage to actually say a coherent sentence without letting her emotions slip too much… damn. She was good.

Sans stared for a moment, seemingly confused. I got a bit of satisfaction from that. Sometimes it was nice to get a reminder that he could be as clueless as anyone else, and actually knowing something he didn't gave me a pleasant sense of smug superiority. I figured it was probably wrong to like that feeling, but I didn't particularly care.

Then, he said "alright. let's go, paps," and walked out of the door. Papyrus looked on for a moment, then shrugged and followed him.

When the two of them were securely out of sight and – hopefully – earshot, she knelt down in front of me. "My child…" she said. "How is this possible?"

For a moment, I struggled to think of a lie. Coming back from the dead wasn't the easiest thing to explain away, but then again, the sheer improbability of the situation was a boon for me, too. She had no frame of reference for this, and wouldn't exactly be able to fact-check my explanation. I could tell her just about anything, and unless it had a glaring hole right in it, she wouldn't be able to argue, especially not in her current emotional state. Still, trying to come up with a lie on the spot was hard, especially about something as inexplicable as resurrection. There was nothing I could immediately think of.

And then it hit me. She'd known me when I was alive. And I'd never had the greatest sense of humor. I grinned my best grin and said, "Would you believe me if I told you my ghost had possessed someone?"

Her wandering gaze snapped to me for a moment, her eyes concerned and serious, and then she seemed to realize something and chuckled. I had to keep myself from smirking, and instead managed, with some effort, to keep up my sincere-looking smile.

I'd just told her a half-truth. Yes, that wasn't technically how it'd worked, and yes, that wasn't anywhere near the full story – but it was close enough. I'd told her a half-truth, and I'd gotten her to assume that it was a joke. That meant her thoughts probably wouldn't wander in that direction, and I kept the freedom to tell her just what she needed to know. Of course, I still needed to think of a lie, but I doubted the consequences of failing to make it convincing would be as bad now. I'd managed to make sure that, as suspicious as she might get, as much as she might see through my lies, she wouldn't figure out what the actual reason was. And frankly, I doubted she'd even get that suspicious, or be that good at seeing through my lies.

She smiled at me. It was a warm, genuinely happy smile – not in Papyrus' usual, overblown way, though. It was something subtler, but at the same time, something deeper. Perhaps she didn't show her emotions as much as Papyrus did, but her expression left no doubt that inside, she was – quite possibly literally – happier than I could ever imagine. I found myself smiling back, a desire to just share in that deep well of joy overtaking me.

"Very well," she said. "I understand if you do not want to talk about it right now."

Now that was unexpected. It made things easier, certainly. I didn't even have to worry about the lying part. And besides… that felt good, too. Knowing that she didn't want to pry into my life or dig out my secrets, that she was content to let me talk about what I wanted and keep the rest to myself... it was nice. It told me, I supposed, that she really did have my best interests at mind, that she really wanted what was best for me more than anything else. That she really loved me like I was her very own child.

"Thanks," I said, still smiling.

She rose from the floor and sat down on the couch, right next to me. "So, how are you, Chara?"

My eyebrows rose for a moment before I realized she'd just said my name. That felt weird. I hadn't heard anyone use my name in a long, long while. My face mellowed out again, and I said "I'm fine. How have you been?"

"I've been…" she started, and then paused for a moment. "Fine, too, I suppose."

I glanced down at the floor for a moment. It couldn't have been that good, living in the Ruins. She was all alone, with no friends or family, isolated from the outside world. Her only company were the books she had in her home, and considering how long she'd been living there, it felt quite possible that she'd read them all already. It was probably a lonely, dull life – and she suffered it without complaint, just so that when, every so often, a human fell down, she could protect them. How often did that happen? Barely ever, I was willing to bet. Yet still, she endured, waiting for the few moments in time when she could make a difference, when she could save a life. The worst part, she had yet to succeed even once, not counting me – and in this timeline, my survival was far from a certainty. It struck me, for the first time, just how much strength it took to persevere in the face of all that. If I'd been stuck in the same situation, would I have done the same?

No. No, I didn't think I would've. I didn't think I could've.

We sat in silence for a moment. Then, I said "Well… Sans got you to come here for a reason."

Her eyes widened. "Oh! Right! I had almost forgotten." She leaned over, taking a look at my arm. As she did, her eyes grew even more shocked. "My child…" she whispered. "What happened?"

"Mm…" I hesitated for a moment. "Would it be okay if I said I didn't want to talk about that right now either?"

She said nothing, but nodded. And then, she wrapped her arms around me.

It was just as warm as Papyrus' hug had been.

I felt an energy spread out throughout my body. It was similar to what I'd felt when I'd eaten the pie, but the feeling I'd experienced back then had been nothing but a pale echo of Toriel's true magic. What I felt now wasn't a feeling I could describe, not in a few words. It called to mind images of birds fluttering through the air, of warm sunshine shining on a patch of flowers, of children laughing and playing. I felt like someone coming back home and reuniting with their family after being away for far too long. It was something between relief, joy, excitement, satisfaction, happiness – and, most of all, sheer, simple peace.

I expected some sort of crunching noise and flash of pain as my bones set themselves back into place. I knew that wasn't how monster healing magic worked, of course, but in my subconscious, the expectation was still there. That didn't happen, though. My bones settled back into their proper place as calmly and unnoticeably as a river slowly changing course over hundreds of years – just in a matter of seconds. I didn't feel any sort of pain, or even any discomfort. I just felt the dull ache already coming from that arm slowly recede, and after a moment's time, I realized I could move it again.

I threw both of my arms around her, ignoring the little tingle still present in the right, pressed close to her, and leaned my head on her shoulder. "Thanks," I said.

"You are welcome," she said in response, and hugged me tighter. I felt something wet drip on me. She was crying, and somehow, I knew they were tears of joy.

We sat like that for a few seconds before I gently pulled away. For a moment, again, we sat in silence, and then she said, "My child, may I ask you something else?"

I shot her a wry smile. "Depends."

"Chara…" she said, "while you were in the Ruins, you looked… different. Why was that?"

I licked my lips. "Uh… that's something else I'd rather not talk about." She glanced to the side for a moment, and then turned back to me. She looked... worried and hurt and a bit suspicious. But she nodded.

God, I felt awful. She was one of my three oldest friends, and the only one of the three I could talk to. I should've been pouring my heart out to her, telling her everything that had happened, leaving out nothing. She, of all people, deserved to know. But instead, here I was, being secretive as a mouse. I had a good reason for it. I couldn't tell her what had actually happened. If I'd led any other life, if I hadn't messed up so badly, if I hadn't done quite so much awful things, I would've done what I should've and told her everything. But I couldn't. She may have deserved to know, but she couldn't. I needed to keep this a secret. And somehow, the fact that she was willing to just accept it made it hurt all the more.

I'd told Papyrus, though. If I'd told him, why couldn't I tell her? Maybe I could tell her, too. It wouldn't actually be that bad. She was a kind person, and besides, she basically saw me as her child. She'd be willing to forgive me, I knew. She'd understand that I really did want to be a better person now, that there was no point in dwelling on what I may have done in some timelines that didn't even exist anymore. Hell, I'd told Sans, too, and he wasn't anywhere near as forgiving as that. Sure, that had been an event born of necessity, but still, if I could tell him, I could tell her too.

I tried to say _Actually, I have something I need to tell you_. But I couldn't.

Dammit. Dammit. I'd had my resets taken from me, and I'd persevered. I'd had someone who gave my life meaning die, and I was powerless to bring her back – and I'd persevered. I'd survived a close brush with death, and I'd persevered – and even managed to give the knight a pretty good fight. And I was being a coward now? Now? That wasn't happening. I wasn't going to be like that. I was going to tell her everything. All I needed to do was bloody well say it!

Nothing came out of my mouth.

I bit my lip. Oh my god. Why? Why the hell was I so scared to say it? She wasn't going to judge me for it. She wasn't going to be mad at me because of it. She wasn't that kind of person. I knew that much. At most, she was maybe going to be a bit disappointed, but…!

It hit me. That was why, of course. Because as much as I didn't want her to be mad at me, as much as I didn't want to face her wrath, the thought of disappointing her was even worse. Her child had come back from the dead. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life – and I didn't want to ruin it by forcing her to face what I'd done. I had no right to ruin it all like that.

Or was that just what I was telling myself? Was that just a comfortable lie? Was that just my way of trying to convince myself it was alright, even when it really wasn't?

I looked down. Yeah, probably.

She placed an arm on my shoulder. "My child…" she said, so quietly she was almost whispering. "You haven't…"

I looked back up at her, and tried not to let my emotions show in my expression. She paused for a moment, staring at my face, trembling.

Finally, she said, in a motherly, compassionate, comforting voice, "You haven't… done something, have you?"

The words felt like a slap across the cheek.

She suspected something. She thought I might've done something bad. Yet she wasn't accusing me of anything – she just wanted to talk to me about it. She wanted to help me through it.

She was a good person. She cared about me. And I wasn't telling her a thing, just because I was too much of a coward to face her reaction. Because I was too much of a coward to open up to anyone.

I just looked down and blinked a few times. She clutched my shoulder tighter and leaned in closer. "My child…" she said, the words full of emotion. I was sure that if I looked up, I'd see her crying.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever you did…" Toriel said, her voice shaking, "I'm sure it can be forgiven…"

I looked away even more. I was becoming more and more sure that it couldn't be.

She hugged me once more, and I felt more tears drip down onto me. "Please, just…" she said, her voice pleading. "Tell me. Tell me what's wrong."

I dared to look towards her, just a little bit. I bit my lip. My throat felt tight. I couldn't speak. I just shook my head weakly.

She turned aside for a moment. "I understand…"

I felt like crying.

I wrapped my arms around her, too, and buried my head in her fur. I could feel her tears roll down my cheek. Soon enough, they were joined by my own.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed. "God, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her so much. I wanted to just let this all be behind us both, to just make sure we both knew where we stood. I wanted to let her help, to let her comfort me, to let her tell me it was alright. I wanted to just let it out, to just admit it, to stop hiding secrets from the one person who cared more than anyone else.

I just couldn't.

Dammit. Why was it so hard?! Why was I being such a bloody coward?! Why in the world was I hiding things from her, of all people?!

And all of a sudden, something burned bright inside me. Something that roared like a fire, consuming all the sorrow that had been eating through me. Within my mind, it glowed like a blazing furnace, and like a furnace, it tempered my thoughts. It focused them, turning scattered confusion into single-minded concentration, turning the roaring whirl of emotion inside me into sheer, blazing purpose. I recognized the feeling. It was rage – rage at myself.

What the hell was WRONG with me?!

Suddenly, I knew something. I knew something with a conviction so fierce that it was simply unfathomable that I could be wrong. I knew something deep within me, deep within my very soul. I knew that I wasn't going to let this fear control me. I knew that I wouldn't hide secrets from one of my oldest friends. I knew that I was going to tell her everything.

I realized, somewhere in the back of my mind, that this feeling wasn't simple rage. It was something far stronger, something far more essential to everything I was. It was determination.

It was a familiar feeling. But never before had it been quite this strong.

I gathered it. I turned it into sheer will, something primal and elemental. I let it blaze through my thoughts, charring everything else inside my head – all the conflicting emotion, all the despair and fear and hopelessness – as it made its way to the forefront. I focused it, throwing my entire being into that power's embrace. I felt it roar through me, wild and powerful. And I turned it all towards a single thought – I was going to do this, damn it!

And I just couldn't say it.

But that was alright. I was going to do this, after all. I knew that much. I wasn't going to give up, not now. All that meant was that I couldn't just will myself into saying it. I needed to do something else first, prepare myself. And I knew how.

I turned towards Toriel. The notion of looking her in the eye, at least, no longer scared me. "Please," I said. "Give me a moment."

She nodded, almost imperceptibly, and said "Very well, my child." She released me, and I her in turn. With razor-sharp purpose to my actions, I stood from the couch and walked up the stairs. I went into Papyrus' room. I needed isolation and privacy, and the skeletons were still outside. It was the best place I could get.

I walked to the bed and kicked my shoes off. I sat on it, cross-legged, and closed my eyes. I tried to steady my breathing, and though it didn't quite work, it calmed me down a little.

I couldn't tell Toriel what I'd done. Not as I was right now. The thought just scared me too much, no matter how much I hated that fact. However much I tried, I just couldn't talk to her about it. I just couldn't face what she'd think of it.

Then maybe first, I needed to face what I'd done. I needed to face what the consequences had been. I'd realized, sometime during that conversation, that my resets hadn't erased everything. There was still one thing that my endless crimes had ruined, perhaps forever. And if I couldn't even face that myself, what hope did I have of facing anyone else's thoughts on it?

I needed to talk to the one person who'd been hurt more than anyone. I needed to talk to the one person who'd know everything I'd done, who could judge me for it all. I needed to talk to the one person who, perhaps, had been doomed by what I'd done. I needed to see the consequences of what happened when I abused my powers. I needed to see them firsthand.

I needed to talk to the one person who had been just like me.

I took a deep breath and looked within myself.


	22. To Face Eternity

**AN:**

 **hi ace50** : Well, I somehow doubt it's the first one _ever._ :P But yeah, it definitely feels that way, which was really the inspiration for me writing this story in the first place. I have nothing _against_ narratives where Frisk redeems Chara, not in and of themselves, but... they're getting a bit old.

As for the question about Frisk... well, hopefully this chapter will clear that up.

* * *

It was dark there.

Well, _dark_ didn't quite describe it. I supposed one might call it pitch black, and it was that – but that didn't do it justice, either. It was so dark there that it reached beyond the limits of human sight, so dark that I couldn't even comprehend it with my eyes. Instead, I felt the darkness as a tangible presence, something pushing down on me with a pervasive, ever-present pressure. As I looked around, I saw what appeared to be black all around – but it wasn't that. It was something far darker, far more ancient, far more primal. It was… the color of nothingness, I supposed. Like what one sees when one closes their eyes, turned into a color. I couldn't see it – no being in existence could. So, I just saw black, and only felt the weight of the darkness.

And in the middle of it all, one thing stood strong in defiance of the endless abyss. One thing cast out its light across the void, casting its existence, its very being against the nothingness surrounding it. It was shaped like a heart – not a real one, but one of the stylized ones children would draw. It was bright red, so bright it almost hurt to look at it, and the light that blazed from it was so fierce it threatened to burn me.

Or, well. It would if my actual body was there.

I was looking at my own soul. My essence. All my memories, all my experiences, all the passing thoughts I'd ever had, all the personality I'd ever had, from little quirks to the bloodthirst that had driven me for so, so long… it was all there. Determination flared from within it, permeating it so thoroughly that, at some level, it WAS the soul – and that was what gave my power. That was what had let me manipulate time. That was what had let me keep going, over and over, when all hope seemed lost – and yet it was my willingness to do that very thing that had created it in the first place. It manifested now as the light that surrounded the soul, and as I watched it burn through the night, I suddenly appreciated on a greater level than I'd ever had before the sheer power I held inside me. I'd always considered it nothing more than a tool, just a way for me to manipulate time – powerful, but nothing special. But standing here, truly taking it in for the first time… it let me see it for what it truly was. It let me see it for something more, something greater. It was more than merely something that would let me reset – it was a force, a force that was my very being, a force that colored my every action. In that sudden moment of clarity, hope burned inside me, hot and invigorating. Suddenly, I knew that no matter what the bird did, no matter what anyone did, I would not be broken. He could send his lackeys to kill me, he could make me afraid, he could make me scream and beg – but he'd damn well finish the job. Because until I was dead and cold, I was going to keep. Coming. Back.

Because that was what I was. I was what my soul was, and my soul was that of determination. That simple fact, that simple truth, ensured that I would never give up. It did not matter if the only breath left in me was ragged, unsteady, and harsh, agony to the lungs and the throat – I would draw it anyway. And to my last breath, I would defy all that stood against me.

Even if what stood against me was myself.

I'd done this for a reason. I knew what I had to do. I had to face what I'd done, what the consequences of my actions had been. I'd killed hundreds, and though I may have erased all the deaths, such a deed was not wiped from history easily. There was still one person I'd hurt who would never stop hurting – one person who I'd hurt more than anyone else.

I took a deep breath and, inside my mind, threw myself forward, into the pulsing mass of my soul. As I rushed into it, blinding red light and searing heat consumed me, turning the world to hellish pain. But I had to do this.

A moment later it was gone. I no longer stood in the endless void. Instead, millions of scattered impressions rushed past me. Dust, and blood, and pain, and power, and the feeling of my knife cutting through monsters. From all around me, cold knowledge thrummed and seeped into my awareness – the knowledge that each monster I witnessed being slaughtered was a person with friends and family and feelings and emotions and fear. I froze for a moment, stunned by all the hellish images rushing past me. This was what I was, wasn't it? I'd killed over, and over, and over again, and so that was what I was seeing. But now I knew, I knew how much all those deaths really meant, and suddenly I felt… cold. And so, so guilty. I stood, frozen by an avalanche of realization, as the immensity of what I had done crashed down upon me. But I had to do this.

I looked. I looked past the impressions and the flashes of memory and the scattered emotions and the knowledge that flitted around my soul. I ignored that which was me. I willed myself to not see it – it was my soul, after all, and my thoughts. I shoved them out of the way, until I could see past them, and there I saw what I was here for. What I had, I suddenly realized, dreaded to see. If I went forward, there'd be no telling what would happen next. And there would be no coming back.

But I was a soul of determination. And. I. Had. To. Do. This.

I strode forwards, the strewn-about thoughts flashing through the soul parting to make way for me as I walked. By the time I reached my destination, they were gone. All that remained to my sight was the same endless darkness I had first seen, though my thoughts still danced at the edge of it. And lying on the invisible floor, right in front of me, was what I was here for.

I knelt beside the child curled up on the ground, and asked, very gently, "Can you hear me?"

They were… cute. Their appearance was similar to mine, though their skin was darker, and their features were less… sharp, less rough than mine were, and they didn't have those odd rosy cheeks I'd always had. In general, they just looked gentler, more innocent. Their hair was the same brown color as mine, but a bit messier than how I'd last remembered mine looking. They wore a light blue sweater, two stripes of purple running across it, and their pants were the same tone of blue. Their shoes looked about the same as mine. They lay on the ground, curled up into a ball, and their face was buried in their knees. They were as still as a statue, not a muscle twitching.

They didn't respond to my question in any way.

I gave them a moment first, but when it became obvious that they weren't going to do anything, I leaned in and said "Hello?"

The kid didn't even stir.

I reached out and, gingerly, laid a hand on their shoulder.

That, at last, got a reaction. They shuddered, so slightly that it was barely perceptible, and their eyes cracked the tiniest bit open. "Leave me alone, Chara," they said. Their voice sounded… weak. Hoarse. Like a voice that hadn't gotten any use in a long, long time – which, I supposed, it hadn't. And more than anything, they just sounded tired.

"Hey," I whispered.

They groaned, an utterly miserable sound, and guilt welled up within me. "Haven't you done enough?" they asked me. "Please. Just let me rest."

I looked down. This was what I'd done. This was my fault. I'd pushed a child into the depths of their own mind, forced them to watch as I used their body to slaughter everyone they'd ever cared about. They were a prisoner inside their own soul, and they'd been forced time and time again to suffer a torment so deep I couldn't even imagine how they must have felt. And it was all at my hands. I supposed at some point, they'd just decided to go to sleep, and never wake up. I couldn't blame them.

"I'm sorry," I said.

The words fell like a hammer in the silence. I could feel them go still under my hand, as still as a statue of cold marble. Somehow, I knew that their breath had suddenly stilled. I looked back down at them – at their face. Their eyes were open all the way, now.

And then, their eyelids fluttered down again, their eyes settling back into that weary half-closed state. "Really?" they muttered.

"Really," I said. "I'm… I'm sorry."

Their eyes turned, just barely, towards me. But they said nothing.

"I… realize what I've done was wrong now," I said. "And I know nothing I can do can make up for it. I… I think I know what I've put you through, and I think I can guess how awful it was. But for what it's worth… I'm sorry."

For a moment there was nothing but stillness. And then, they lifted a hand, the motion slow and feeble. They grabbed awkwardly at my wrist and moved my hand away from their shoulder. I could've resisted – it would've taken no effort at all to stop them – but I didn't. If they didn't want me to touch them, they didn't want me to touch them. After all, they were hardly unjustified.

They twisted on the floor, rolling away from me. Slowly, they uncurled, until they lay on their back just like a sleeping person might. Their eyes opened a bit more, and they glanced at me. "Look at me," they said.

I did. I looked right into their eyes. I saw the accusation in their gaze, but I saw what was beneath, too. The resignation. The despair. The exhaustion. That desire, deep inside, for it all to just bloody end – a desire that would've been desperate, but they were so tired by now that they couldn't even muster the energy to wish desperately for something anymore. There was no hope in them anymore.

And it was all my fault.

I blinked and sniffed the air. My breathing grew a little harder, and I wanted to look away. I didn't want to see them like that. I didn't want to see the suffering I'd caused. But I had to. I owed them that much, at least. So, I stood, resolute, and looked them in the eyes. Before I knew it, tears touched my face, wet and bitter.

The kid gasped, their own eyes suddenly flying wide open. Their own breathing grew faster, too, and for a moment, they stared at me, frozen. Then, they seemed to come to a decision and said, cautiously, "Come here."

I stood and walked towards them, then knelt by their side once more. Tears rolled down my cheek now, staining my skin and reddening my eyes, though I still managed to maintain a degree of composure. They looked at me as if disbelieving, and slowly, hesitantly, they reached up with their hand and wiped a single tear off my cheek. They brought their finger in front of their eyes and blinked at it a few times. They looked back at me, something new in their eyes. "You… you really…" they said, a note of surprise in their voice.

I shut my eyes. "Yeah."

They looked at me for a moment more, and then, awkwardly, tried to push themselves off the ground. They fell right back down before making any significant progress, but I caught them before they hit the floor. I wrapped my arms around them and tried, gently, to lift them to their feet, but they glowered at me and said, "I don't need your help." I froze for a moment, unwilling to just let them go, but they shoved me away and, as before, I didn't try to resist. The moment they left my grip, they lost balance and fell back to the ground again, but their face set into a fierce expression and they tried to stand once more. They fell once more, and growled in frustration. They rolled over onto their belly, pushed their arms underneath them, and forced themselves up to their hands and knees. When they tried to actually get onto their feet, though, they just collapsed again.

Finally, they looked at me, a bit of resignation on their face, and said "…Alright. You can help."

I took a tentative step towards them, wrapped my arms around them once more, and helped them to their feet. Even in my hold, they still stumbled a bit and nearly fell down. I took their arm, wrapped it around my shoulder, and said "Here. Lean on me." They groaned in displeasure, but they did what I'd told them. Carefully, I took my hands off them. The moment I did, they staggered and nearly fell again, but they clutched onto my shoulder and pulled themselves back up. Now that they were standing, I saw that they were a bit shorter than me, and they had to reach up to put their arm around me.

They glanced at me, their eyes barely open. "Thanks," they said.

I nodded at them. "You're welcome."

For a few seconds, we stood like that. Even with me to support them, it was clearly taking them everything they had to just remain standing. I reached out a hand to them, an offer of help, but they shook their head and I withdrew it again.

After a while, they bit their lip and said "So… you really…"

I looked aside. "Yeah."

They looked at me, a range of emotion in their eyes, and I looked back at them. Then they looked away too. "I'm sorry if I don't believe you."

I lowered my head. "It's okay."

They bit their lip again. "I mean… I want to. I want to believe you." They hesitated for a moment. "But…"

"I understand," I said.

"Thank you," they muttered under their breath.

They took a bit of their weight off me. Almost immediately, their legs gave out and they, once more, grabbed onto my shoulder. They pulled themselves closer to me.

"What happened?" they asked.

"There was someone," I said. "A bird monster. Can't quite remember his name at the moment, but he wanted to kill me. He knew about the souls Asgore had. I had to reset before he could get them, and then… well… I figured the souls wouldn't be as vulnerable if I didn't kill everyone."

"Oh," they whispered, their voice so, so sad. I looked at them curiously. "That's… all this is about?"

Somehow, that hurt. The idea of them thinking that I hadn't really changed, that I was still just doing this for pragmatism's sake… it hurt. It hurt like a knife in my heart.

"No," I said. "No, I… I realized that it wasn't so bad. I liked it. The monsters, they… they were kind to me, kinder than I'd ever deserved. I mean, I…" It took a moment for me to get my thoughts in order. "I'd never really thought of them as people before. But now… I mean…"

I looked to the side. And suddenly, the kid hissed "What?!"

My eyes went wide. That sort of anger felt… unnatural, coming from the kid. Almost unnerving. Like it was an emotion that they were never made to feel. But I supposed that if anyone was deserving of having it directed at them, I was.

"What do you know about them?!" they demanded. "About Sans, and about Papyrus, and about Undyne, and about… about my friends?!" They grasped my collar with a surprisingly strong grip and yanked me towards them. There were tears on their face. "You killed them over and over and over, and now… and now… just because you had some fun…!" They started sobbing, and no more words came from their mouth. They took their arm off me and shoved me away from them, and it actually pushed me away. They stumbled in place for a moment, their legs shaking…

But they stood. On their own.

I took a cautious step back towards them. I placed a hand on their shoulder. "I don't know as much as you," I said, quietly. "But I know that Sans is a funny little jokester, that he's the kind of person who can make you groan even as you laugh on the inside. I know that Paps is a cheerful ball of enthusiasm, that he can make you happy just by being near you. I know that Alphys, for all her awkwardness, really just wants to help, and that she'll always be right behind you." They were looking up at me now, their mouth hanging slightly open. "I know they're people, now. I know how… how horrible it was when I'd killed them all. And I swear to you…"

I looked into their eyes, and closed my own. "I will NEVER make that mistake again."

For a moment, there was silence. Then, they said "…Paps."

"Hm?" I asked.

"You called him Paps," they said.

I smiled. "Oh, yeah. I didn't even notice."

They smiled, too.

It was a somewhat cautious, hesitant smile. And a somewhat disbelieving one, too. And yet, it was full of so much unrestrained surprise and joy and elation. It was the sort of smile that made anyone who looked at it want to just smile too, to just share in that endless well of happiness that had suddenly burst forth. They were happy, happy that I'd finally seen the light, happy that their torment might finally be over, happy that, for the first time in what must've seemed like eternity, there was hope in the future – and looking at that smile made me just as happy, too.

"Chara…" they said, and it sounded like they were trying not to burst into laughter. "You really…" They chuckled. "Wow."

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'll never kill anyone again. I already promised that to Sans – I'll promise it to you, too."

They looked right at me, their eyes wide, tears forming.

And then they laughed, and flung themselves at me. They hit me so hard I stumbled and hugged me. I hugged them, too, and I could feel their tears – tears of joy, tears of unbridled happiness and relief – touching my face. It took me a moment to notice when mine started to get mixed in, too. Their laughter was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard.

"Heh," I chuckled. "You are just like Asriel."

"Nah," they said. "I think I'm a bit less furry."

It wasn't even a good joke, but it made me laugh anyway, and that just made them laugh harder. I felt my smile grow wider. This wasn't a little, sublime shared moment like what I'd had with Sans, or a simple friendly conversation like I'd had with Papyrus, though both were pleasant. This was simple joy, joy we could both share in, the kind of joy that made the grass seem greener and the birds more cheerful and the sunlight brighter.

By the time we finally let go of each other, we were both smiling – good, honest smiles, the kind that came straight from the heart. I wasn't entirely sure what I looked like, but the kid looked more or less like it was Christmas morning and they couldn't wait to go open their presents. It was… really, really adorable. Again – just like Asriel.

"I don't believe I know your name," I said, the thought suddenly coming to me.

"Oh!" they said. "I'm Frisk."

I chuckled. I couldn't help myself. "Hey!" Frisk yelled.

"Sorry," I said. "But it _is_ a funny name."

They crossed their arms and pouted. "Well, you're named Chara!"

"Yeah," I said. "I know. I've got a funny name too. You should learn to be proud of it, like me!"

They put their hands on their hips and tilted their head at me. "I'm not really sure I want to be like you."

Okay. That was actually pretty funny. "Fair enough," I said.

"So," Frisk said, "why'd you come here, anyway?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"I mean…" Frisk scratched their head. "Was there a reason? Or…"

I shrugged. "Not really. Just… felt like I should talk to you."

They smiled. "Well, thanks," they said.

"You're welcome," I responded. Though, now that I thought about it… I looked to the side and bit my lip. There was something that still worried me…

"Although, hey, Frisk," I said.

"Yeah?" they asked.

"Are you… going to be alright?" I asked. "I mean, you're just going to be here in the void…"

They grinned mysteriously. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Well…" I said. "Aren't you going to be lonely here?"

"Tsk, tsk, Chara…" they said. "Remember how it was at the very start?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Well, you were…" And then the realization dawned. "Ohhh."

"Yep," Frisk said, beaming.

I smiled, too. "Alright, then," I said. "See you!"

And then I ejected myself from my own mind.

It was an odd sensation. Leaving my soul wasn't as involved as entering it, but everything that had happened before still happened – just in reverse, now. The scattered impressions I'd pushed away from me came back, wrapping around me like a blanket. A moment later, they all disappeared, replaced by an instant of searing heat, and then abyssal darkness – and then I sat on the bed in Papyrus' room.

I wasn't entirely sure how long all of that had taken. I thought it was probably less time than it had seemed to take; after all, in theory, everything that had just happened should've been happening at the speed of thought. But even that was far from a certainty. The soul was a very, very complicated thing, and truthfully, I didn't have any clue how any of what I'd just done actually functioned. It could've taken less time than it had seemed to, or the same amount – or, hell, for all I knew, it could've taken more. Not that knowing which of those it was would help me – I'd hardly been keeping track of time during that.

But that wasn't too important. All I knew was that I'd faced what I had to face, and it'd gone so much better than I'd thought it would. And…

[Hey, Frisk!] I thought, and made a mental image of sending the thought at Frisk.

[Here,] they said from beside me.

I turned my head to the right and found… Frisk, sitting in much the same position I was, though they were floating a centimeter or two above the bed. Their body was transparent, ghostlike, but other than that, they were much as I'd seen them in my mind.

Right. That was what I'd been like, back at the start. How the tables had turned. (I thought about sending that thought to them. But… that seemed insensitive.)

[Hi,] I thought at them.

[Hi to you, too, Chara,] they said. [So, what's been going on?]

"Well…" I said, not bothering to keep it inside my head. It wasn't like there was anyone around. "It's a long story."

They smiled at me. [Tell me.]

So, I did. I told them about everything, starting from my first encounter with the bird (whose name I still couldn't remember) all the way to the present. For once, I left nothing out. I told them absolutely everything; after all, everything I might've otherwise tried to conceal, they already knew. It felt oddly good. It was nice to conceal no secrets, hold nothing back. It was nice to know I didn't have to worry about them getting curious about something I wasn't telling them. It was nice to know there was someone who'd know everything I'd been through, someone who could really understand me.

When I was done, they sat in stunned silence for a moment more. Then, they said […Wow.]

"Yeah," I said.

[That's…] they said, and paused, as if trying to think of a word. […Big.]

"Mm-hmm," I nodded.

They hesitated for a few moments. [So… how are you gonna deal with this?]

I shrugged. "I don't know."

[You don't know?] they said, alarmed. [But, Chara…]

"Yeah," I said. "I know. I'm in danger. And I'll do something about it. But I don't have a plan. Not yet."

Their lips narrowed and they looked down. I looked at them. "Hey, Frisk. I've got a question for you."

They turned back towards me, an eyebrow raised. [Mm?]

"So…" I said. My throat felt dry. "This body. It's… yours, technically. Do you… you know…"

[Want it back?] they finished. I nodded.

They looked away. For a few seconds, there was silence, and then they said [I…] They hesitated for a moment. [Not yet.]

"Alright," I nodded. "Thanks."

Silence.

Finally, Frisk turned back to me and said [So, what are you waiting for, Chara?] They smiled. [Let's go!]

I nodded, and smiled too, grateful to have something else to think about. "Al-" I caught the word before I finished saying it. I cleared my throat. Right. That was a bad habit to get into. [Alright _,_ ] I thought at Frisk.

I stood from the bed. My legs felt a bit weak, as if unused for a while. Well, that made sense. I hadn't really moved my physical body much for – at least from my perspective – a while. I walked a bit unsteadily out of the room and back downstairs, where Toriel was still waiting. She greeted me with a look and a nod of her head. I sat down next to her on the couch.

"Hey, Toriel," I said. "I've got something I need to tell you."

And I did. Just like with Frisk, I told her everything. The stifling fear that had stopped me before was no longer an issue, and as I spoke, even what anxiety still remained melted away. I supposed that after I'd faced Frisk, after I'd faced the judgment of the one with the most right to judge me, facing her no longer seemed scary. Good. That had been the entire point, after all. (Though, thinking about it in those terms now seemed worryingly cold. I had to remind myself that getting the courage to face Toriel wasn't the only reason I'd had to face Frisk, that it was something I'd had to do one way or another.)

She looked at me, her eyes wide, tears slowly forming. Finally, she said "My child… you…"

"Yeah," I said. "I know. I'm sorry."

What she did next was unexpected.

She reached out, wrapped her arms around me, and pulled me towards herself. She put her head on my shoulder, and I heard her crying softly.

[Well then,] I thought to Frisk. [I'm getting hugged a lot today…]

[Are you complaining?] they needled from the back of my mind.

[Nope.]

"My child…" Toriel whispered. "I swear I will protect you. I will not let this… this creature get to you."

I looked to the side, as much as I could in her grip. "No," I said, solemnly.

Her hold on me grew a little less tight. "But, my child…" she said.

"No," I said, a bit more confidence in my voice. "Thank you, but I can't live like that. I can't just live in fear, under someone's wing. I need to take care of my problems. I need to make sure the bird won't hurt me, and I need to make sure he won't hurt anyone I care about. If you can help with that… then thank you, and I'll gladly accept your help. But I won't just hide away under your protection."

She looked at me, worry and concern in her eyes. "And besides," I continued, "the bird's powerful. I don't think you could stop him, and if you tried, you'd just be putting yourself in danger. I don't need another corpse added to the pile on my behalf. Especially not yours."

She released me and leaned away. She looked like she wanted, desperately, for me to change my mind. But… I wouldn't. And I was pretty sure she knew that, too.

…

Oh, what the hell. It could end up being my last day on this Earth.

I leaned towards her, gave her a quick hug, and whispered "I love you, Mom."

Then, I let go and, without looking back at her, went to the door. I turned the handle and, with a creak that I couldn't help but feel carried a sense of finality in it, it opened, letting the cool Snowdin air in.

I stepped out from the warmth and comfort of the house into the cold, merciless snow, and behind me, I heard the door slam shut. Right, then. No more hiding. No more running.

It wasn't time to face my fate. It was time to make it.


	23. Pandemonium (I)

[So, Chara,] Frisk thought at me almost as soon as we left, [got a plan yet?]

I considered it for a moment. […No.]

They rolled their eyes. [Well, really. What are you going to do, then?]

I froze in my tracks. [Uh.]

A heartbeat passed, and then Frisk burst into laughter. [Wow… really, Chara?]

I exhaled. [Well, do you have anything?]

Frisk folded their arms and looked into the distance for a few moments. [Well, actually,] they said, [I think I might.]

My ears perked up. [Hmm?]

[Well…] they said, a bit nervously, [you said Feathers went for the souls last time?]

[Feathers?] I thought at them. [Really?]

[Hey, you said you didn't remember his name,] they said.

I sighed. [OK. And yes, he did.]

[Well, uh...] they stammered, [maybe you should talk to Asgore? You know, warn him or something?]

I snorted. [What should I tell him?] I asked. [That I'm a time traveler and I know someone wants to steal the souls?]

Frisk shrugged. [Yeah, basically,] they said. [I mean, it's him. I don't think you'll have too hard a time getting him to believe you.]

I thought about it. That was… true, actually. [Huh. That's not a bad idea.]

[Yeah,] they grinned. [Besides, anything's better than what you had before.]

[Fair enough,] I chuckled. And with that, I set off again, a bit more purpose in my steps now.

We went through Waterfall in a sullen silence. Which made sense. My last memory of the place was… not good, and while I doubted Frisk disliked the place quite as much, I had told them about everything – including Undyne's death. Going to the place where she'd always lived after learning of that… I couldn't imagine it was easy for them. After all, at least I'd barely known her. They, on the other hand, had most likely been excellent friends with her once upon a time. That considered, I really couldn't even envision how they must've been feeling.

Eventually, though, I heard their voice in my head once more. [Actually, Chara…]

I looked at where they were floating along beside me. [Yeah?]

[I've been wondering something,] they said. [You said Feathers' got some way to stop you from resetting?]

[Yeah,] I thought back. [You got any ideas how?]

[Nope,] they replied. [But I think you might be looking at it from the wrong angle.]

I shrugged as I walked. [I'm open to suggestions.]

[Well…] they started, [you've been thinking about how he could stop your resets. But I'm wondering how he even knows about them in the first place.]

I thought about it for a moment. [Huh. That's a good question.]

[Yeah!] they said, cheerfully. [And I bet if we can find that out, we can figure out what he's doing to stop them, too!]

I smiled. [Huh,] I said. [Sounds good.]

Frisk smiled too. [Thanks,] they said. [We should get to Asgore first, though.]

[Mm-hmm,] I nodded.

And with that, we walked onwards. We were a bit cheerier after that, but we still went mostly in silence. It felt a bit more comfortable than before, though. Less stifling.

It didn't take too long before we reached Hotland. When we did, I walked towards Alphys' lab, as I always had, but before I reached it, Frisk pointed out the now-unblocked elevator to the north that could work as a shortcut. I thanked them – I didn't think I'd ever had to pass through Hotland several times in a run before, and I wasn't aware of the alternate route – and went that way instead. It saved a bit of time, which was nice, though I wouldn't have objected to seeing Alphys again. But time was of the essence, even if it didn't feel like it.

Next up was that weird place Mettaton had (MTT Resort, Frisk called it). Sans stood off to one side at the entrance, but I just gave him a polite nod of my head and ignored him. He was a good person, and a good friend, and I wanted to spend more time with him – but I had to devote myself to fighting the bird. When he was gone, I could get to know everyone better and spend as much time with them as I wanted, but until then, I needed to act.

The place itself was, as always, rather glamorous, with a fountain with a statue of Mettaton in the middle. I spent little time in it, and instead moved directly onwards to the Core. I made the short walk to the elevator and pressed the button to open it. As I did, I couldn't help but notice the cocky little grin on Frisk's face.

When my hand actually touched the button, though, and the elevator doors opened, their expression suddenly turned to one of surprise. [Huh,] they said.

I looked at them quizzically. [In all my previous runs,] they explained, [this thing never worked. I always had to go through a bunch of stuff to fix it.] They thought for a moment. [Well… except for… those ones. You know.]

I chuckled. [Guess we know who got the short end of the stick.]

They groaned. [No need to rub it in.]

[Oh,] I grinned, [there is absolutely a need.]

[Ugh.] Frisk rolled their eyes. [I feel like maybe you should be a bit more worried about why it's this way…]

I shrugged. [Maybe. But I'm not going to complain.] I stepped onto the elevator and let it take me upwards.

[…Um,] Frisk said when we were partway up. [Do you… have any clue how you're going to deal with Mettaton?]

Oh. Right.

[…I'll figure something out,] I thought back at them. They looked nervous, but they just shrugged and settled by the wall (in fact, they were slightly phasing through it).

After what felt simultaneously like an eternity and like far too little time, the elevator stopped. I stepped out, took a deep breath, and walked into the room where I knew Mettaton would be waiting.

He was there. "OH YES," he said. "THERE YOU ARE, DARLING. IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN. IT'S TIME TO FINALLY STOP THE "MALFUNCTIONING" ROBOT."

He paused, dramatically, for a moment. "…OR AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT YOU THOUGHT."

I felt my eyebrows go up a bit. Frisk seemed surprised, too.

"YOU SEE," Mettaton continued, "OUR DEAREST DOCTOR ALPHYS… SHE NEVER STOPPED WATCHING YOU."

For a moment, I felt a pang of exasperation. Ugh. Of course. She was helpful, and nice, and I liked her… but I'd have liked it if she stopped constantly spying on me.

And then the full implications of that reached me. And then my heart might've stopped beating for a moment or two.

She'd been watching me. She'd been watching me constantly. Everything I'd done in this timeline was within her view. My little breakdown after I realized what had happened to Undyne. My fight with – and my almost-death to – the knight. And, most importantly, what I'd been doing at Sans and Papyrus's house.

And what I'd been saying at Sans and Papyrus's house.

"Oh, hell," I muttered. She knew what I was.

Well, I thought, it wasn't so bad. That probably wouldn't be all too bad, and besides, it saved me the effort – and mental pressure – of telling her myself. After all, she deserved to know, one way or another.

But still. The consequences of that would be... unpredictable. A quick glance at Frisk showed that they'd clearly reached the same conclusion I had, and felt much the same way.

"THAT'S RIGHT," Mettaton continued. "SHE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE. SHE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE. SHE KNOWS ALL YOUR LITTLE SECRETS. AND YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE?"

He leaned in towards me, as much as his cubic metal body could, and stage–whispered conspiratorially "SHE'S BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL THIS WHOLE TIME."

One of my eyebrows rose. She… has? She hardly seemed like the type for manipulation. Besides, she'd been helping me this whole time, and what did she have to gain from that? Unless, for whatever reason, she wanted me to survive for her own selfish reasons. But that didn't seem likely.

I figured there was a good chance Mettaton was lying. And if he wasn't, that just raised more questions. Just to check, I glanced at Frisk.

They did not seem surprised. At all. And their expression was something between worry and anticipation.

Oh. Figured. They already knew what was going on, and judging by their reaction, the robot wasn't lying.

"AS SHE WATCHED YOU ON THE SCREEN, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO YOUR ADVENTURE," Mettaton continued. "SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT."

And suddenly I realized.

Alphys had always been incredibly helpful. She always seemed to have the right tool for the job. Every trap, every challenge – she'd always had whatever I'd needed to overcome them. And I recalled that she had seemed surprised whenever I'd managed to come up with my own way to get past them, to the point of being put a bit off balance. And she'd seemed to know more than she should have. And the robot had never seemed particularly upset by me getting past everything he threw at me…

Well, of course. Because she was never helping me, not really. Because Mettaton, the killer robot, was a fiction. Because it was all a setup – all a game to make sure she got a chance to be part of my story. All an act to ensure that I'd be her friend.

Perhaps it said something about me that I'd come to that conclusion so quickly. But what the robot said next confirmed it. He told me, in some detail, exactly what she'd done. And it was everything I'd suspected. Mettaton was always working for her. The puzzles in Hotland were all reactivated by her. The joke was on me, and it was all because the bloody dinosaur wanted me to be her friend – one way or another.

A cold anger ran through me. How dare she. That… that was worse than any old manipulation. Manipulation for a goal, manipulation to make someone do something – I could get that. I didn't approve, of course, but it was nothing compared to what she'd done. She'd tried to manipulate me into feeling a certain way. She'd tried to manipulate me into liking her – and all because she was too damn cripplingly insecure to ever try to get me to like her the normal way. Effectively, she might as well have tried to brainwash me.

My hand trembled, worryingly close to the frying pan in my pocket.

"BUT!" Mettaton announced. "OF COURSE, YOUR… ABILITY… THREW A WRENCH INTO HER PLANS. SHE TRIED TO TAKE IT ALL DOWN, COVER HER TRACKS. SHE TRIED TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE IT WAS DIFFERENT THIS TIME, LIKE SHE'D AT LEAST REALIZED IT WAS WRONG. SHE TRIED TO APPEAL TO YOU BY UNDOING HER OWN WORK."

"BUT IT WAS ALL FOR HER OWN GOALS, TOO," he said. "IT WAS ALL FOR HER SELFISH NEED FOR YOU TO BE HER FRIEND."

My eyes grew cold. _Alphys,_ I thought. _You bastard._

Mettaton made a grand gesture. "AND YOU KNOW WHAT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE?" he asked. "THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HER GREATEST MOMENT. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN WHERE, IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR "FIGHT", SHE WOULD INTERRUPT. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN WHERE SHE WOULD "DEACTIVATE" ME, "SAVING" YOU ONE LAST TIME."

"BUT!" he announced. "THERE WOULD BE NO DRAMA IN SUCH A BATTLE, WOULD THERE? AFTER ALL, IF YOU CAN JUST KEEP TRYING OVER AND OVER… WELL, WHAT'S THE POINT OF ACTION IF YOU ALREADY "

My eyebrows rose. But… I wasn't sure to win. That had been what I was so worried about. With my resets gone, I was as vulnerable as any human child – a human child with far more experience than any other, true, but still. Unless… did he not know about that part? It seemed reasonable – after all, even if Alphys knew, why would she tell him?

"SO, YOU KNOW WHAT?" Mettaton asked. "I'M NOT PARTICIPATING IN THIS CHARADE ANYMORE. I AM SORRY, DEAR AUDIENCE…" He paused dramatically. "BUT I AM LEAVING!"

And with that, he turned and rolled out of the door.

I stood for a few moments, trembling with rage and the desire for vengeance. I heard the sound of a door opening behind me, and the distinctive pitter-patter of reptilian feet.

"U-uh…" I heard Alphys' distinctive, nervous voice say from behind me. "Y-you…"

In a single, smooth, vicious motion, I drew my frying pan, spun around, and swung it right at her. [Chara!] Frisk yelled from within my mind, but I barely heard them. The smooth metal sang through the air, promising justice. Its weight was perfect – light enough to swing, heavy enough that I could almost hear the satisfying _thwack_ it would make as it struck the traitorous little dinosaur. I wanted to strike her, to hurt her, to kill her. I wanted to bludgeon her to death, feel the impact of each blow as she withered under my assault.

The pan stopped a few centimeters from her head.

She took a few quick, panicked breaths as she flinched back from its iron, and a coat of sweat covered her forehead. She stared at me, her eyes wide, hands up in a desperate, pacifying gesture.

I took a few deep breaths. I would not hurt her. That was not what I was anymore. She wasn't a bad person – desperate, yes, selfish, yes, cowardly, yes, manipulative, yes. But not evil. Not cruel. And I didn't hurt innocents anymore.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Sight," I said, my voice frosted over. "And I don't want to see you ever again."

She took a few hesitant, stumbling steps backwards, her eyes still locked on me. Frisk floated beside me, an accusing expression on their face, their eyes just as locked on to me as Alphys' were.

And then I heard something else behind me.

Mettaton's wheel grinded on the floor as he rolled back into the room. I turned my head sideways, letting me look at him while still keeping an eye on Alphys. He was going backwards, wheeling himself back into the room while looking out at something out in the hallway.

"UM, GENTLEMEN…" he said.

A familiar shape stepped into the doorway.

It was the bird. The bird who'd caused all of my troubles. The bird who'd taken away my power, who'd put me in mortal danger, the bird who'd been responsible for all of this. The bird who was far more powerful than any normal monster had any right to be, and about whom I still knew frustratingly little.

He was the one I'd wanted to find. It seemed he'd found me.

And behind him, two more shapes came out of the hallway. One I recognized immediately as the knight – the one who'd damn near killed me in Snowdin Forest. My legs buckled, and I had to keep myself from trembling. He wasn't too fast, I knew that much, but he was tough and strong and unstoppable as hell. A single good hit from him could kill me, and it had taken him barely any effort to break my arm. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he was durable enough that my attacks had basically no effect whatsoever – when I'd hit him a few times before, he hadn't even flinched.

The other was a black-cloaked figure, its hood pulled up, a black mask covering its face. It took me a moment to place, but I realized I'd seen it before, too. I'd seen it back when I'd witnessed the bird's fight with Undyne, and whatever it was, it seemed to have some sort of power over souls – it had undone Undyne's soul magic with just about no effort when the bird had been affected by it. And, perhaps even worse, it had the ability to teleport. That already gave it unparalleled mobility, the ability to dodge almost anything I could throw at it, and – quite possibly – the ability to mess with my soul in a way similar to what Sans and Undyne could do. And I was willing to bet its powers didn't end there – Par didn't seem like the sort of person to work with weaklings.

Frisk turned around slowly, their apparent disapproval of my actions forgotten. [These the people you were talking about?] they exhaled.

[Yep,] I nodded.

[Fun bunch,] they said.

I didn't smile at that. I had other things on my mind.

"Are we interrupting something?" the bird said.

I glared at them, trying to make sense of the millions of thoughts rushing through my head. Right. First things first. I turned back to Alphys and snapped "Get out."

She froze in place. I gritted my teeth. Damn it, this was not the time for this. "Get out of here if you feel like living!" I yelled, and with a pathetic whimper, she turned and sprinted out of the room. I just had to hope the bird wasn't too interested in her – if he was, I doubted anything she could do would prevent him from getting her, what with the teleporter on his side.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to particularly care about her. Instead, his eyes, and the eyes of the knight – and, I assumed, the figure, though I couldn't see its face behind the mask – were locked firmly onto me. Mettaton was still backpedaling away from them, and towards me, but it seemed like he needn't have bothered – the three didn't even seem to see him, they were so intently focused on me.

"You should go, too," I told him. Unlike Alphys, he might've actually been somewhat of a help against the trio – he, at least, had some form of combat capabilities – but I had no guarantee it'd actually end up that way. With all his flamboyancy, he could just as easily end up distracting me, doing flashy but useless things, and in general sending the battlefield into chaos – and that wouldn't help. It was safer to send him away.

[Wait, why?] Frisk asked. [He's pretty strong. He could help you.]

I sighed. [Frisk, have you seen him? With his personality, I'd say he's as likely to be a liability as anything else.]

[That's…] They paused for a moment. [Fair.]

"NOW, NOW, DARLING!" Mettaton said, turning towards me. "I DO NOT SIMPLY RUN AWAY!"

Behind him, the knight shifted his weight a bit. "What are you waiting for?" he asked the bird in his usual, toneless voice.

The bird narrowed his eyes and a hissing sound came from his beak. "Nothing, I suppose," he said, though it was obvious the knight's question had rattled him. "Kill them."

The words cut through the air like a knife, and for a moment, everything froze.

Then, the knight slowly raised his arm, and the usual massive greatsword appeared therein. It cut through the walls and ceiling of the Core, and the whine of protesting metal filled the room. The yellow light emanating from the blade appeared to catch Mettaton's notice, and he turned around. When he saw the sword, he, once again, froze in place for a moment.

"ACTUALLY…" he said, and then paused. "TOODLES!"

And with that, he wheeled around me and went out of the room.

The knight swung.

The bird extended an arm.

The figure stood menacingly, and somehow, its bearing gave me the impression that it was ready to do something.

And then what felt like a million things happened at once.

Crescents of yellow light materialized just in front of the bird's palm and flew outwards. I didn't have time to process where they were going, though, because the knight's attack was about to reach me. Fortunately, there was no snow to slow me down this time, and I ducked to the side, avoiding the sword's deadly bite. A quick glance around showed me a crescent hurtling towards my legs, and I frantically leapt away from it, barely managing to get out of the way in time. Frisk shouted [To your right, Chara!] but it was too late. I was committed to the leap now, and I ended up slamming into something. Arms cloaked in black clothing wrapped around me and held me, and I realized the figure had teleported there and decided to intercept me.

Fortunately, monsters – and I assumed that the figure was one – weren't built for physical combat. Their bodies were made of magic, and that made them nowhere near as strong as a human's flesh-and-blood body. Even a child like me would be able to fight off almost any monster out there, and though the hold had caught me briefly off-guard and thus managed to restrain me for a few moments, the theory held true. I felt the figure's grip loosen as I struggled, and I could tell that it couldn't hold me for long.

I realized a moment too late that I was playing right into its plan.

Just as I was about to break free, the figure shifted its weight, twisted around, and shoved me away from itself. I hadn't expected that, and my lack of preparation combined with the momentum I'd already given myself in my attempt to escape meant that I ended up being pushed a few steps forward. Not only that, the figure's brief turn just before it did that let it control the direction where it would send me – and it had shoved me right towards the edge of the platform. I just barely managed to stop myself from stumbling off.

[Behind you!] Frisk shouted, and my head snapped to the side. A group of crescents was coming at me from the bird's direction, and the knight was walking steadily towards me at the same time. I managed to duck slightly to one side and avoid the bird's magic – I noticed the figure step back slightly to avoid being hit itself – but doing that precluded me from also being able to get away from the knight. By the time the crescents had passed, he was already rather close to me, and had traded in his greatsword for an enormous spiked shield that covered his entire body when he held it up. As I stood up from my crouch, he put his head down, his shield up, and charged at me like a bull. Damn it. At this range, I didn't have the space to dash to the side before he hit me.

Instead, I did something only marginally less suicidal than waiting around for the shield to hit me – I jumped backwards. From the edge of the platform.

I fell, tossing my frying pan somewhere vaguely onto the platform as I did, and for a moment, sheer primal panic and terror filled my mind. But I reached out and, just in time, caught the platform's edge. The knight's shield wasn't quite touching the floor – if it was, he could've hardly charged like that – so it wouldn't hit my hands, but him stepping on them was still a very real risk. I quietly prayed that that wouldn't happen, and lowered my head just to make absolutely sure the shield wouldn't hit me.

My gambit paid off. The knight stopped short just before the edge of the platform, his feet just missing my hands. Thankfully, he had his shield held out at a good distance from him, meaning there was a gap between it and the edge of the platform. I used that to clamber up, getting between the knight and his shield, and managed to slip under his arm in his brief moment of confusion. I emerged in the center of the platform, and in a much better position than before. The bird was in my field of view, but he simply stood there without doing anything.

Someone snapped their fingers behind me and to my left, and I turned. The figure stood next to the edge, my pan held in its hands. With a dramatic gesture, it dropped the weapon, letting it tumble into the endless darkness below.

Dammit. Now I didn't have a weapon. Though, I supposed I would've hardly been able to harm any of them even with one.

[Chara, Feathers!] Frisk shouted, and my gaze shot back to the bird – or, I supposed, Feathers. Crescents surrounded him. One of them flew at me, and I stepped to the side, but a moment later, the second one launched, going to my new position. They kept going like that, one after another, each one adjusting its aim to track me.

As I was dodging them, Frisk suddenly shouted [Behind you!] and I twisted my head to the side to find the knight's greatsword – which he had apparently switched back to while I was distracted – sweeping across the platform's length. I leapt over it, desperately hoping my momentum would carry me away from the bird's crescents. One went past just behind me as I was in midair, and I felt its heat on the back of my neck. I exhaled a quiet sigh of relief, but before I landed, something struck me in the gut. The figure had appeared, and its elbow was stretched out to strike me. The blow sent me reeling for a moment or two, which could make all the difference in this sort of battle. I noticed another crescent flying at me in my peripheral vision, realized I couldn't sidestep it after that, and desperately bent downwards. The magical projectile passed just over me, searing the skin on my head and probably taking a few hairs off, but it failed to inflict any serious damage. I swept a hand at the figure's head, but it teleported away before I could hit it.

[Crescents!] Frisk yelled, and I realized that the bird still hadn't used all of them up. I took off at a sprint just as one of them hit the spot I'd been standing at a moment ago, and continued running until the telltale sounds of them hitting the ground stopped. Even then, I took a quick glance at the bird – just in case – and confirmed that he had, indeed, run out.

Something yanked at the back of my collar and pulled down hard. If I'd expected it, I could've resisted, but I hadn't. I stumbled and started falling to the ground. I almost managed to catch myself, but then, the figure appeared right above me, put its hands around my neck, and pinned me down, starting to choke me at the same time. It was still weaker than me, but it wasn't a question of strength anymore – as long as it was on top of me, I couldn't escape unless I could move its whole weight, and I couldn't.

I looked to the side, and I saw the knight's greatsword disappear to be replaced by a spear. Damn. I didn't have much time.

I threw a punch at the figure's masked face, hoping to get it to teleport away and let me go, but it merely shifted its head and dodged my attack. I threw another punch, which was, just like before, dodged. So, I changed my strategy. My next punch was aimed at the center of the figure's torso, and that was a blow it couldn't dodge without letting me go. Whether it had decided to take the punch to keep me down or just failed to react fast enough, I didn't know, but my fist struck it. Beneath the black cloak, the figure felt… bony, and jagged. Like a skeleton.

That was odd as hell. I knew a few skeletons, but… none of them would be working with this bastard. Besides, Sans was nowhere near that tall, and Papyrus couldn't teleport. Did there just so happen to be some other skeleton running around?

I didn't have time to consider it. The figure flinched backwards and let out a grunt as I struck it, and I figured that this was my best chance. Once more, I went for its face, and this time, I hit home. It staggered away, loosing its hold on me. Its hood flew back from the blow, but the mask still concealed its identity.

Taking the chance, I rolled to the side opposite where its stagger had sent it and managed to get out from under its grip. The knight's spear sailed over my head, and the figure teleported away an instant before the deadly point struck the spot where I'd just been pinned down. My eyes darted around, and I saw the bird make a gesture with his hand. A torrent of feathers flew at me, and I desperately rolled to the side, trying to get up while still staying in motion. The torrent tracked me as I went, the feathers burying themselves in the ground just behind me, but I managed to get to my feet. Then, I ran to the side, briefly putting myself between the bird and the knight – and an instant later, I heard a scream of pain that didn't sound like a sound anything living would make.

The battlefield froze for just an instant, and I twisted my head to look at the knight. The feathers had buried themselves in his armor, each one sending out a series of small cracks from the point of impact. The figure reacted quickly – it teleported to the knight's side, grabbed him, and the both of them teleported to somewhere else before any more feathers could strike. But even those few that had hit had inflicted far more damage than anything I could do to the knight. Holy hell. I'd known the bird was powerful, but that, more than anything I'd ever seen before, suddenly made me appreciate just how powerful he was.

And then everything continued.

The torrent of feathers ceased, but the bird let out a noise of anger that sounded something like the call of an eagle and a pair of wings of those same magic feathers appeared on his back. He leapt at me, using the wings to boost his momentum, and drew one of his hands back, clenching it into a fist. If it was any other monster, I would've thought they couldn't have done too much to me like that – again, monsters weren't very physically strong – but with the bird, I wasn't willing to take those sorts of chances. I hopped to the side, but he'd already committed, and he ended up punching the empty air. In that moment, he left himself open for just a moment, and I struck him in the side of the head. He cried out in what might've been pain or might've just been surprise and spun away, stumbling as he went. He almost fell to the floor, but he managed to pick himself up and remain on his feet. He stared at me, rage filling his eyes.

A crescent of magic appeared in each of his hands, and he leapt at me again. With his new weaponry, I didn't dare try to sidestep – the crescents could've caught me anyways if I did – and instead fell back before his advance, letting him keep slicing at the air. For once, I had the luxury of time – the knight wouldn't try to do anything with the bird so close to me, for fear of accidentally hitting his own master, and while the figure could interfere, its attacks seemed to be limited to the physical so far, which wouldn't be anywhere near as deadly as anything else in this fight.

Still, I had to do something eventually. So, I kept my eyes open for an opening. It didn't take long before I found one – the bird, for all his power, didn't seem like much of a fighter, and his movements were brutish, clumsy and not very thought out – and when I did, I took it. I ducked underneath one of his crescent blades, moved to the side away from the other, and swept my foot at his legs. The blow caught him, and he tumbled to the ground. I couldn't quite stop myself, and kicked him in the ribs (though, I supposed, monsters didn't technically have those) while he was down.

[Uh, shouldn't you lo-] Frisk started, and then something struck the back of my knee. It wasn't a particularly hard blow, but it was unexpected and well executed. It sent me down right on top of the bird. [-ok out?]

The bird pressed a hand to my side, and I rolled off him before I could find out what it felt like to have a crescent of burning magic appear right inside of me. That was an experience I could do without. I managed to quickly stumble to my feet, just in time to see the figure teleport in front of me with the knight in tow. The knight punched at me, but he was fairly slow, and as long as my movement wasn't restricted, I could dodge that fairly easily. I twisted to the side, and the punch struck nothing. I decided against trying to hit him back – that would probably only hurt my hand. Instead, I tried to run towards the figure – but before I could, it appeared right behind me and grabbed me by the arms.

As before, its grip wasn't particularly strong, but it could still hold me for a few moments. As it did, the knight threw another punch in my direction, but it was aimed at my head, and the figure was only grabbing me by the arms. I ducked, and the knight's fist sailed overhead – just barely not hitting the figure. Unfortunately, my dodge had distracted me from struggling, and the figure used the opportunity to redouble its grip.

Well, if the figure was content to distract me and hold me down that way, I was content to do the same to escape. I kicked backwards, and felt my foot hit the figure's. It staggered for a moment, and that was enough. I spun out of its grip, reached towards its face, and – before it could react and teleport away – grabbed at its mask. I pulled, and felt it start to come off. Desperately, the figure vanished – leaving the mask in my grasp.

The combatants all froze, the fight suddenly pausing. I threw the black cloth down and looked around, a satisfied smirk on my face. It lasted until I spotted the figure – and then, I froze too.

Underneath the mask, I saw the face of a Royal Scientist who should have been long dead.


	24. Pandemonium (II)

**AN:**

 **GiratinaBeelzemonblaster369** : Again, this story's done already and I'm just porting it over to this site now, so... sorry, can't take your advice. Very glad you're interested enough in the story to offer ideas, though!

also _what is that name_

* * *

Dr. W.D. Gaster bowed low at the waist, the motion stiff and mechanical – clearly no more than an obligation meant to be observed, or, as I suspected it was in this case, a mockery of one. "Your Highness, Chara," he said in a tone that didn't even pretend to be anything but disdainful.

I suddenly had a lot of questions swirling about in my mind. But Gaster had just insulted me, and I didn't let those sorts of things slide. And besides, two could play at that game. I bowed in response, adding a little flourish of my arm, and said just as scornfully "Royal Scientist Gaster."

[You know him?] Frisk asked.

[Yeah,] I responded. [I knew him when I was alive. Though he should be dead right now.]

He tilted his head at me, just barely. Then, he muttered "Hmph. No use for this, then, I suppose." He grabbed his black cloak by its collar and threw it off himself. Underneath, he was wearing the most formal of business suits – snow white shirt, pitch black jacket and bright red tie. It was all immaculately tailored and looked utterly pristine. Of course. Gaster had always had a thing for formality, and tended to disdain anything less than perfection in that aspect.

Though, of course, the most important question still remained. How the hell was Gaster back? He'd died. He'd died a long, long time ago, and while it was true that the circumstances were mysterious and his dust was never found, I found it hard to believe that he'd just been living in secret for this much time. Besides, it didn't fit him. He might've been willing to remain in hiding for a while, but the moment false rumors of his death reached his ears, I had no doubt he would come out, if only so that he could lecture the masses on how stupid they were and how they shouldn't fall for things like that that easily.

Gaster had always been kind of an arrogant prick.

He turned his head to the bird, who had by now gotten up and was standing some distance away, and said, "I suppose I have permission to use my magic now, do I not?" His tone was disdainful, which made sense. He followed authority – although what could have led to him accepting the bird as _authority_ , I had no idea – but he made no secret of it when he didn't like what he was ordered to do.

The bird, for his part, looked displeased – presumably at Gaster's cover being blown. But after a moment of growling, he said "…Fine. Go ahead."

Without a word, Gaster turned back to me, and his expression shifted. It was a slight change, nothing more than a few details around his eyes – but it was all that was needed. Somehow, that look told me that he was prepared to attack with full intent to kill.

And the battle resumed.

The bird swept his hand in front of him in lines a few times, each sweep creating a crescent that immediately went flying at me. I leapt to the side, but suddenly, something caught hold of my soul and pulled me back towards the bird's attack. Fortunately, I had, completely by accident, timed my jump well – by the time Gaster (I assumed he was the one responsible) reacted, the crescents were already almost past me, and they only barely grazed me with their tips. Still, even that minor impact left searing wounds in my flesh, and pain combined with a feeling of intense heat shot through me. It was nothing I wasn't used to, and I could ignore it rather easily.

Gaster's magic still carried me to the side, and I suddenly realized that he could just release it when I was over the pit around the platform. I would be helpless to do anything to stop myself from falling, and that would result in almost certain death. That couldn't be allowed to happen.

I twisted around in midair, noticing that the course Gaster had sent me on passed close to the knight. I reached out and managed to, just barely, grab onto his arm. The substance his magic armor was made of felt exactly like steel beneath my fingers, and it took some effort to get a good grip, but it worked. Gaster's spell continued to pull on me, but clearly, he did not have enough power to move the knight's massive weight. But he didn't let up – he just kept the spell going, and meanwhile, the knight's other arm started moving towards me. It wasn't a particularly fast motion – nothing the knight did ever was – but that didn't matter. I was pretty much trapped – if I let go, Gaster's soul magic would continue to carry me out to the pit, and if I didn't, I could hardly dodge his grab.

[Uh, Frisk?] I asked, desperately. [Any ideas?]

[Uh…] they responded, frantically, as if in a panic. Which made sense – I didn't know what would happen to them if I died, but I doubted it would be good. And they had never been in a real life-threatening situation before. [Uh…]

I exhaled. Alright. Nothing coming from that corner. I needed to come up with something myself.

Okay.

I gritted my teeth and let just one of my hands slide off the knight's arm. I thrust it out, towards his other arm – the one trying to grab me – and grabbed onto that one instead. Quickly, I shifted my other hand's grip, too, and ended up hanging completely on the arm he had been using to try and get me off him. That way, he could hardly use it to seize me.

Of course, all that meant was that he'd have to use his other arm – the one I'd originally been holding on to. I couldn't keep up the pace for as long as he could, and it wouldn't be much trouble for him to just keep switching until I got too tired to hang on. Or, hell, he could just shake me off the old-fashioned way.

Or at least, that was how it seemed at first glance. But I wasn't up against the knight – I was up against Gaster. I only had to hang on for as long as his spell lasted, and that was limited by his stamina. And since he was trying to move me, and I was clutching onto the knight, I was willing to bet that regardless of what he wanted, his spell was trying to move the knight, too – and considering the knight's sheer mass, there was no way he could keep up something like that for long. A quick look at Gaster told me I was right – his teeth were clenched, his arm was trembling, and though his eyes were set into an expression of fury and vicious defiance, I could tell that he was straining. I'd be free soon – I just had to hope the knight didn't do something in that bit of time.

He didn't. He, once more, started trying to grab me – it seemed he hadn't come to the same conclusion I had – but before he could reach me, I felt the spell deactivate. I let go of the knight's arm and flopped to the floor like a fish. I tried to roll away – but before I could, the knight twitched his foot slightly, and it hit me in the ribs.

It hurt. Bloody hell, it hurt. But I'd been hurt before, and I was used to it. Now, it was more background noise than anything else to me, and I didn't really even notice it as I bounced across the floor. I landed near the bird, and taking my chance, I launched myself at his feet, trying to send him to the floor once more. He was close enough to the edge that it wasn't unreasonable that I could knock him off, and if I did… well, maybe there was a chance that he couldn't activate his wings while he was already in the air.

Yeah. And maybe all three of them would decide to stop fighting and just be my friends instead.

And besides, I thought, I'd made a promise. To Sans, and to Frisk. I wouldn't kill anybody. And I didn't get to go back on that just because I didn't like these people.

But I didn't get to find out how any of that would go, because before I reached the bird, something pressed down on my hand and smashed it flat to the ground. I looked up to see Gaster standing in front of me, one way too shiny shoe on my hand, his weight pressed down upon it. He extended a single hand, and a large, utterly inhuman skull appeared above me. It was gazing down at me, little red pinpricks of light in the middle of its expressionless eyes, somehow managing to convey a sense of utter contempt.

My heart fluttered in fear. Oh hell. That was one of the blasters Sans had used back when I'd fought him. Only… not quite. The only obvious difference was the glowing red pupils – if they could be called that – that this one had, which had never been present on Sans' ones – but there was something else, too. When Sans used them, they seemed to be… just magical weapons; nothing more, nothing less. Powerful tools, but simple tools nonetheless. This one wasn't like that. I couldn't say I got the impression that it was alive, not really – but I did get the very strong feeling that somehow, alive or not, it hated me. It hated me specifically, and it hated me with the sort of hatred reserved for a particularly annoying ant that was just about to get crushed.

I shook off the feeling. I knew too well to think something like _I'm just imagining it, that thing can't really feel anything_ – but the fact was, contemplating whether it despised me or not wouldn't help me get out of the way. If anything, that little agitating feeling of unease at the back of my head that the blaster caused would just obstruct my thinking. So, I shoved it away, ignored it as best I could, and forced myself to think clearly.

I couldn't escape as long as Gaster had me pinned, and as much as humans were physically stronger than monsters, that wouldn't help me here. The issue, after all, wasn't one of strength – it was one of weight. And Gaster, while lighter than a human of his size would be, was still way too heavy for a kid like me to move.

Good thing I didn't have to do that.

I reached out with my free hand, grabbed at Gaster's leg, and yanked it to the right. Apparently, he hadn't expected that, because his foot slipped to the side – and away from my hand. He stumbled for an instant, and I took the opportunity to free what little part of my hand was still trapped – and the instant I did, I rolled left. I scrambled to my feet – by which time Gaster had already teleported away – just in time to see the blaster fire. As it did, it roared its usual characteristic roar, but I could swear that this time, there was just a bit more aggression in it than there'd ever been in any of the ones Sans had used.

Okay. This thing definitely wasn't one of the normal blasters.

I kept a close eye on it, noticing as I did some of the bird's crescent attacks slamming into the spot on the ground where I just was a moment ago. If I'd moved a moment or two slower, I would've died then and there. The thought startled me, and suddenly, I felt scared to death. How long would my luck keep up? There were three of them up against me, after all. I'd gotten lucky so far – they hadn't exactly used great teamwork, and I'd always managed to come up with a counter to whatever they did – but how long would that last? When something finally got me, would I even notice what it was until it was too late? Or would I just die to something I never even saw coming?

But I didn't have long to think about that, because suddenly, the blaster started bloody turning towards me, still firing its beam. Thankfully, it wasn't exactly fast, and besides, I'd been prepared for something like this to happen. I turned to the side and sprinted as fast as I could, hearing the blaster's beam steadily going along behind me. In my peripheral vision, I saw Gaster make a gesture with his hand, sweat beading on his forehead (somehow). A wall of bones appeared in front of me, and while it was short enough that I could theoretically jump over it, it was too close to me for that to actually be possible. Instead, I frantically turned, ran at the blaster's beam, and leapt. The skull tried to track me as I jumped, but it wasn't quite fast enough to hit anything vital. It did, however, end up searing one of my feet, and that leg slowly started reporting a dull pain. As I landed, that pain suddenly grew to something very, very sharp – but not quite debilitatingly so, and with the blaster still after me, I had no choice but to run, ignoring the protests from my burned foot.

The knight made his move next. Suddenly, a yellow greatsword flared to life ahead of me, the blade held vertically. He didn't try to cut me or slice me or stab me or otherwise attack me with it – he just held it up in front of me, and it was every bit as effective as a wall as Gaster's had been. Hell, it was more effective – even if I'd had the perfect distance, there was no way I could've jumped over it, and it extended further to the sides too. With no other option, I did that trick where I leapt over the blast again. Fortunately, it seemed the skull wasn't bright enough to know not to fall for the same trick twice, and it tried to track me in the very same way that it had the last time. This time, though, I was ready. I pulled my feet up as high as I could, and managed to avoid getting burned a second time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bird, in the distance, extend his hand. It was pointing right towards where I would land, and I saw the glow of magic coalescing within it. Oh, hell. If he fired now… I didn't think there was any way I could dodge. His aim wasn't excellent, and I didn't think he'd hit anything vital, but he'd sure as hell slice up my legs pretty bad.

He hesitated for a moment.

I didn't have time to question why, didn't have time to think about whatever reasons he could have to miss his chance to cripple – and probably indirectly kill – me. I just quietly thanked whatever gods were or weren't out there as I hit the ground, and immediately took off at a sprint. The bird hissed in frustration and fired several crescents in succession, but it was just an instant too late. I ran as fast as I could, and I heard the crescents smash into the ground behind me, their own sounds of impact mingling with the beam's.

Then, someone else hissed in frustration, too, and I turned my head to the side. The lights in the skull's eyes blinked a few times, and then the whole thing faded away. I looked at Gaster. He was gasping from exhaustion, and I could see that he could barely keep himself upright, much less cast any magic. It seemed my trick with grabbing onto the knight had done more than save me from immediate death – it'd forced Gaster to expend way too much of his magic, too.

I grinned. One down.

[Behind you!] Frisk yelled, and I turned. The knight had twisted his sword into a horizontal orientation, and it was moving towards me with the steady pace of a locomotive. Fortunately, like this, it wasn't exactly all that tall. I ran towards it and, when I judged myself to be close enough, leapt over the edge.

Unfortunately, I'd underestimated it. I leapt over the edge, no problem – but the sword, as I really should've known, was quite wide, and I ended up landing on the flat. I mentally cursed myself for forgetting that – he'd used it as a wall only a few seconds ago, and it'd been more than enough to stop me from jumping over it. Of course that meant it was wide when held horizontally. But I'd forgotten about that in the chaos of the battle, and now I was paying the price.

I looked at the knight, and suddenly, an idea struck me. Perhaps, I thought, _paying the price_ wasn't exactly accurate…

I turned and started running down the blade's length. The knight saw what I was doing, and started raising the sword, but that only helped me along. Running down the slope, I ended up approaching the knight even faster.

Then he tilted the sword.

I started sliding off the blade's smooth surface, and even as I struggled to get a good grip on it, I realized it was pointless. The blade just didn't have anything to grab on to. More nervously than I'd like to admit, I looked over the side of the sword to see the drop beneath me, and my heart lurched as I saw it. It was a high enough fall that I wasn't sure I could survive it, especially not considering the hard flooring that was waiting for me at the bottom.

Right, then. Couldn't fall. So, I needed to do something else.

I whirled towards the knight and, as much as I could on the tilted blade, ran towards him. As I approached him, the blade descended closer to the ground, and if I got close enough, I figured a fall to the ground would be very survivable, if not pleasant. But that wasn't my plan. Instead, I ran for a little bit more, and then leapt off the sword – right at the knight. Thankfully, I was close enough, and my feet hit his shoulder. It felt like jumping onto solid steel, but since he was rather tall, it was nowhere near as painful as going all the way to the floor would have been.

Before he could react, I leapt off him, trying to simultaneously kick him backwards as I did. I failed to move him – an outcome that, in hindsight, suddenly seemed strikingly obvious to me – but I jumped off without incident, and landed on my feet on the ground near him. My instincts told me I should've started running away from him the moment I landed, but…

I cleared my head, as much as I could, and assessed the situation. Gaster was, I was pretty sure, out of the game – I doubted he could've faked that level of exhaustion, unless he was a much better actor than I gave him credit for. That left me with the bird and the knight. They were a scary two just by themselves – and if they were working together, that just exacerbated the issue. Maybe I could continue dodging both of them – after all, I'd already been doing that for a while – but I doubted that could last. If I let this go on for too long, then one of them would just eventually get me. But that was exactly the issue – I had no way to end this quickly, especially not with both of them working together. Both of them seemed to be the next best thing to invulnerable, both of them seemed to have too much power to tire out as easily as Gaster had, and as long as I was fighting both of them, I couldn't even try to attack either one for fear that the other would get me while my back was turned. If I was only fighting one of them, I could at least hope to escape or maybe even win by attrition (though I wouldn't bet on that), but with both of them against me, there was nothing I could do.

So, I needed to take one of them out of the equation. And if I couldn't physically remove either of them or wait for them to get tired out, that meant I needed to get creative. Considering both of those constraints, how could I stop one of them from attacking me?

Well, I was willing to bet that with only three people on their team, none of them were particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of losing one of them.

Somewhat against common sense, I dashed towards the knight. He seemed taken aback, but that didn't matter – his sword was too big for him to hit someone this close anyway, and that was also true of just about every weapon I'd seen him use. I ducked under his arm, punched him in the back for good measure (and felt a sharp pain travel up my arm as I did), and emerged behind him.

With me this close to the knight, the bird couldn't attack me. I'd seen him in action, and as much as he wielded enormous amounts of sheer destructive power, he'd always had a few flaws – and one of them was a lack of precision. His crescents, his feather torrents – they were all wide, sweeping attacks. If he flung one of them at me, there was an equally good chance he'd just end up hitting his own knight, and even if it turned out he did have something more precise, he'd still hit the knight if I dodged. And judging by what the bird's feathers had done to him earlier, I was willing to bet that as good as the knight's defenses were, they weren't good enough to stand up to being repeatedly accidentally hit by the bird. If the bird tried to attack me now, he'd just end up killing his own knight for me.

Somewhat unfortunately, it seemed he'd realized that, too. He looked enraged, but he didn't attack. But that was good, too – if he wasn't attacking, I had one less enemy to deal with. Now the only person I had to fight was the knight, and he was slow and clumsy – and that was disregarding the fact that all the magic I'd seen him use was designed for ranges far longer than this.

The knight twisted towards me, sending a fist at my face. But again, he was slow, and I ducked the blow easily, a cocky smirk on my face. He kicked at me, but I jumped back a tiny bit, only to immediately rush in again as he withdrew his foot.

This was stalemate, then. None of my opposition could really hurt me at the moment – but I couldn't hurt any of them, either, nor did I have a way to escape. I was alive, and I'd stay alive for a long time – but I was trapped. And that, of course, wouldn't do. But just knowing that did nothing for me – I needed a plan. And I didn't have one.

I dodged a few more of the knight's blows before the bird barked out "Move away. Give me a clear shot." The knight obediently took a few steps away from me, but he was still slow. I followed after him, sticking just as close as before.

The bird circled around us. "You intend to use him as a shield?" he growled.

"Yes," I smiled.

The bird hissed in displeasure. "You know you cannot do this forever."

I smiled even wider and spread my arms. "Who knows?"

Now, the bird was positively furious. He shot a glance to the side and yelled "Gaster!"

"Can't," Gaster said. "Out of magic."

Suddenly, the bird's face grew very, very cold. He turned all the way towards Gaster. "Do it. Now."

Gaster sighed, and there was an undertone of anger to the sound. "What part of _can't_ do you not understand?"

Without a word, the bird extended an arm. Suddenly, Gaster screamed in agony, his body contorting, and fell to the floor in a heap. For a few moments, he lay still.

Finally, he stirred once more and rose to his knees. "Yes," he said, sarcastically. "Because that will help."

The bird looked down at him. There would've been more sympathy in a statue's gaze. "Do it."

Gaster rose to his feet and, very calmly, turned to the bird. He placed his hands behind his back and took a few breaths.

"I. Cannot."

The words were full of venom, a barely-restrained rage seething beneath them. It was a tone so full of malice, so full of hate that I actually flinched, and the bird took a few steps back. He looked displeased, but it was already clear to me that he wouldn't try anything again. And he didn't.

But… hell. So that was why Gaster worked for him. Because he was forced to. Because somehow, the bird could torture him, and even just looking from the sidelines, I could tell it was a torture more terrible than I'd ever endured. Because he couldn't do anything except serve, lest the bird's wrath fall upon him.

[Holy hell,] Frisk echoed from within me, though I couldn't tell whether it was because of Gaster's torture or because of that hatred-filled voice. It was an appropriate response for either, really.

I nodded. [Holy hell,] I agreed.

But that still didn't explain a few things. For someone forced to serve, Gaster was trying entirely too hard to kill me. And back when I'd first seen him, back at the bridge, he didn't seem at all conflicted or upset about helping the bird. And that gaze of his from back then that I still remembered, and the sheer spite in that blaster's eyes… those didn't match up with my theory. I didn't know what was really going on here, but it was more than what I'd just seen.

And while my thoughts were focused on that and my gaze was fixed on the bird and Gaster, the knight grabbed me.

He wrapped his arms around me, and held me with a grip so tight that it could've made a machine proud. He pulled me close to him and lifted me off my feet, and I felt a deadly, crushing pressure on my chest as he squeezed me. I tried to struggle, but I could barely breathe, much less move. Agony shot through me, and it felt like my ribs were cracking in his grip – and who knew, maybe they were. If this kept up much longer, I wouldn't be able to breathe, either.

My feet were just about the only useful part of my body that I could still move, so I made use of them as best I could. I kicked him in the legs, as hard as I could – which, due to my current predicament, was not very hard. He didn't even flinch.

The pain built, and before long, I felt like he was about to just crush me in his arms. Thankfully, that didn't happen, but he kept up the pressure, and there was nothing I could do to free myself.

"Par," the knight said, his voice its usual monotone.

The bird extended a hand and magic gathered in it. Time seemed to slow, and I could see as it all happened. I could see the glowing crescent, which suddenly seemed oddly beautiful, slowly fade into existence as the bird's magic brought it into being. I could see the glow the magic cast across his arm and his face, and I could see the way it forced the shadows to retreat until they were barely even there. I could see it come into motion, accelerating in an instant to its full speed. I could almost feel its deadly heat, its lethal cutting force. There was almost a sense of elegance to it. It was efficient, simple and completely fatal. It was a nigh-perfect form of killing magic, and as I stared into its blinding light, I couldn't help but appreciate it.

So, this was how it ended. And all I could think was _Oh. THAT's his name._

An odd sense of calm settled onto me. At least it'd be quick. Par's magic didn't make its victims suffer – it just killed, in an instant. For a moment, I'd feel my face being seared away as the crescent cut through my head, and then… there'd just be nothing.

Wait. My face. My head.

Holy hell.

A new surge of sudden hope blazed through me, and I could feel the determination of my soul pulsing out from within me. He'd aimed for my head! He could've aimed for my chest, where the knight was holding me, and I'd be helpless to do anything. But he'd went for the head – and that, I could still move.

I lowered my head as far as I could. That wasn't very far – but it was enough. Even when I was just seeing out of the corner of my eye, the light from the crescent was blinding, and I felt its warmth on my scalp as it passed overhead. Then, there was a thunderous crack of impact, and – for the second time ever – I heard the knight scream in pain. His grip on me vanished suddenly, and I fell to the floor as he staggered backwards.

"Idiot," the knight snarled. It was the most emotion I'd ever seen him use.

I took a moment to catch my breath. Right. I'd gotten lucky, but what had just happened had made one thing very clear – staying near the knight wasn't as good of an idea as I'd thought. Perhaps it could work, but the risk was too great. I turned and sprinted away from the knight, and – by random chance – found myself running in the direction of the exit door from the room.

 _Wait,_ I thought. _That's not a bad idea._ Gaster was basically down, so if I ran away, he wouldn't be able to teleport the two of them to me – and while the bird could probably follow me on his own, the knight couldn't. Besides, I sure as hell couldn't fight them, not right now. Running away was, as much as I hated to admit it, my best choice.

The trick was actually getting to the door without getting killed. But I figured I could do that.

I picked up the pace, going as fast as I could. Behind me, I heard a growl from the knight – which was, again, far more emotion than he usually expressed – and a moment later, I heard the sound of something shattering through stone. I turned my head backwards and saw the knight, his arm in the air, a greatsword even more enormous than usual in his hand. And the size wasn't its only difference compared to what he normally used – it looked more… chaotic, more unstable than anything he'd ever done before. Just from him holding it, it was already cutting into the room's walls, slicing through stone with contemptuous ease. He began to swing it, diagonally, towards me, digging a deep furrow into the walls of the Core as he did. I ducked to the side, and the sword passed just barely over my head. As it went down, it sliced through the bridge that led to the door, but I was close enough already. I flung myself forwards, towards the door. It'd be a close call, but I was almost certain I'd make it.

And then Gaster appeared in the doorway.

Damn it. He'd been doing nothing for a while – of course he'd be able to regenerate at least a little of his magic in that time. If he could push me even a little back backwards, then with the bridge now broken, I'd just fall into the seemingly endless pit below. And I was committed, now – I couldn't just avoid him.

I clenched my fist. No. I was a soul of determination. I wasn't going to be stopped at the last hurdle, not by something as simple as this.

I drew my fist back and, with a roar I hadn't quite meant to let out, struck at Gaster as I flew towards him. He dodged, just barely, to the side – and in that moment, I slammed into him. Having to dodge had distracted him, and his footing wasn't quite as good as it should've been. Combined with the difference in strength, that was enough. He staggered backwards as I hit him, and we both went through the doorway, landing in the hallway behind it.

Suddenly, the earth shook and I heard a deafening roar behind me, so loud that I stumbled away from it. Gaster, who wasn't in the best condition as it was, fell down from the sudden quake. I looked backwards. The entire half of the wall that the knight had cut away as he sliced at me had collapsed inwards, burying the doorway in several tons of… whatever that wall was made of.

I let out a triumphant laugh. The bird sure as hell wouldn't be following me now.

And then, I turned back to Gaster.


	25. Interlude 4

Papyrus' voice resounded through his and Sans' house. "UM, HELLO?" he asked. "HUMAN?"

Meanwhile, Par stared at the caved-in door, rage filling his eyes. If he'd had teeth, he'd be gritting them.

"Apologies," Slayer said. It was said, as always, in a completely flat, unfeeling, mechanical voice. Par knew that was just how Slayer talked. He knew it was just a consequence of him being who he was. But at that precise moment, that was the exact sort of tone Par did not need to hear.

"You idiot!" Par snapped, turning towards Slayer. Yellow light gathered in his palms, twisting and swirling and crackling with his anger. "You just had to cut through all the walls, didn't you?! You just had to! Couldn't have just used your spear, couldn't have just used your bow. You just bloody well NEEDED to do the most bloody overkill thing you could've!"

He gestured with a hand towards the pile of rubble. "And look what it's gotten us! Now how the hell are we supposed to get to them?!"

Slayer closed his eyes. "I let my anger get the best of me."

"Anger?!" Par yelled. "You don't bloody have anger!"

Par sighed, deeply, and turned back towards the blockade. "Get us through it. Now."

Obediently, Slayer drew his hand back and summoned a massive flail. Par took a few steps back as Slayer swung. The spiked ball, made of nothing more than magic but still harder than steel, swung through the air, and an explosive crash rung out through the room as it struck the rubble, shaking the walls. Hundreds of small bits and pieces broke off as the flail struck, and they flew up into the air in an obscuring cloud of dust. A few large plates of some metal neither person could identify were flung off the path by the impact, falling into the deep pit beneath.

Par staggered backwards at the noise, but regained his composure quickly. Slayer, of course, was completely unfazed. Still, even after that, there was still a pile of rubble there, and it was still big enough to completely block the door. Par gave a twitch of his head, and Slayer struck once more, scattering more debris. The blockade still stood, though – but Par could see the effect Slayer's work was having. One or two more strikes, and they'd be through.

From a lab near the entrance to Hotland, Alphys observed through a screen.

She bit her lip. Dammit. They were going to get through. They were going to get through, and they were going to kill the hu- no, not _the human_ , Chara. It was weird to think of them that way. They were… they were basically a living legend. Alphys had always been fascinated by the stories in the history books, and the story of Chara and Asriel had always been a particular fascination of hers. She'd always found it so, so sad. At that moment, there was hope for peace, hope for reconciliation between humans and monsters. There was hope that something new could be born from the ashes of destruction, something better. And then that hope was dashed in an instant, and the war resumed once more.

And now Chara was here. Chara, the person she'd been reading about over and over since she was just a kid herself. Chara, the person she'd made sure to tell all her friends – insofar as they existed – about, perhaps more than any of those friends really wanted. Chara, the person she thought it was a given she would never meet, the person she thought she'd never see other than in old pictures – and yet, here they were. And now they were going to die. And it was all going to be her fault. If she hadn't set up all those puzzles, if she hadn't created all those traps (the very thought of that made her stomach turn, now that she knew who they were – and especially now that she knew that they were mad at her for it), they wouldn't have been delayed like they had been. They would've just gone through Hotland, went through the Core before those three could show up to stop them, and…

And then what? Alphys wasn't sure, but somehow, she was certain it'd be better than what was happening now.

 _Of course,_ she thought. _Stuff always goes awful when I get involved._

And now they were going to die.

Hurriedly, Alphys turned her head away from the screen. She didn't want to see it. But… but… she had to. She couldn't just turn away from the ki- Chara's death just because she was too squeamish. Even she couldn't be that much of a coward.

Or at least, that was what she thought to herself. But she didn't turn back to the screen.

The walls of the Core shook once again as the flail struck.

Meanwhile, someone else ran through Hotland. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and he ran towards the Core. Papyrus was worried. He'd noticed the kid's abrupt departure, and he'd noticed that they didn't say anything to him about it. And surely, if they were planning to leave, they'd tell him – they were great friends, after all. So, if they'd left so suddenly…

Papyrus would've bit his lip if he had one. Instead, he just kept running. If something had happened, he had to be there for them. He'd asked his brother for help, but he'd turned him down – so it was all up to him, and it was up to him alone. But he knew he could do it.

A deafening crack of noise shot out from the screen in Alphys' lab, the sound of the knight's weapon's impact transmitted so clearly it was almost as if she was there herself. She managed to gather the courage to take another glance at the screen, and when she did, the crushing despair that had consumed her redoubled. She could see the other room past the rubble now. One more swing, and they'd be through. One more swing, and Chara would… Chara would…

Alphys trembled, with fear and trepidation and self-loathing. She was supposed to be the Royal Scientist. She was supposed to be the smartest person in the Underground. But she wasn't. She was just a fraud, and a coward to boot. And now, she was watching something she utterly hated happen, and she was completely powerless to stop it.

Her gaze slid over to the remote control, sitting at one edge of her desk. No. She wasn't powerless.

Her heart seemed to stop at that thought. She… she could help them. But if she did… if she did… there was no telling how those two would react. Would they try to track her down? She wasn't sure, but if they did, and if they found her, then they would… they would…

Kill her.

The thought forced itself out past the cloud of nervousness that obscured Alphys' mind and appeared in its forefront. It was like a black hole – twisting the fabric of her thoughts until she could think about nothing else. If she helped the kid here, then… then… she'd die. There was a very real possibility that she'd die.

Her hand shook. She shook. She didn't want to die. Oh, god, she didn't want to die.

Sweat pouring down her forehead, a lump in her throat, fear obscuring her thoughts and overtaking her consciousness… she reached out towards the remote control.

Par smirked. There. The barricade was almost gone, now. One more swing would destroy the rest, and then they'd be done here. He turned to Slayer and, once more, gestured with his head towards the scrap metal piling up in the door. Once it was gone, crossing the destroyed bridge would be no problem for him – he could fly, after all. And Slayer? Well. He doubted he'd have need of him to kill a simple human child, not if he gave it his all – but even if he did, Slayer's attacks had more than enough range to assist him, even if he couldn't actually get into the room.

At the gesture, Slayer swung once more. Maybe Par was imagining it, but it felt like there was some more force behind the swing than the others, as if Slayer was enthusiastic to finally destroy the barricade. That couldn't have been true, of course – but it sure as hell felt like it was.

The flail struck in yet another thunderous commotion. This time, Par didn't flinch. He'd been prepared for it.

He flinched due to something else. The flail hadn't struck the rubble. It'd been stopped short by… something – something invisible that fell like a curtain across the air. Electric-looking sparks scattered from the point of impact, and a beautiful web of lines, all continuously changing color, spread across the invisible wall around where the flail had struck. And then it was all gone, and there was no indication the wall had ever been there at all.

Par grunted. Bloody hell. Of course. Of course, nothing could just go well. Of course, something had to get in the way. Of course, he could never achieve whatever it was he wanted to achieve. Was there some damned cosmic force conspiring against him? Because that was what it felt like at the moment.

Par turned to Slayer. "Well, go on!" he said, his voice raised. "Hit it again!"

Obediently, though with a bit less enthusiasm (no, Par was just imagining that – it wasn't actually possible), Slayer swung the flail once more. A crash of thunder resounded through the room, and, once more, the flail had stopped short. The same web of lines illuminated the invisible wall, and the same cloud of sparks scattered through the air – and the wall appeared to be utterly undamaged.

Par stomped the ground. "Damn it."

Alphys sat in her lab, fidgeting nervously. They hadn't realized it. They thought the wall was as indestructible as it seemed at first glance – completely, utterly impenetrable. But it wasn't. Every strike drained the battery, and she wasn't exactly operating on a lot. Combined with the fact that the knight struck harder than anything alive should've been able to…

She bit her lip. One more hit. That was all it'd take, and the wall would shatter.

Maybe they'd give up, she told herself. Maybe they'd decide it was no use and walk away. Maybe they'd decide it'd be more efficient to try it sometime else.

She gazed intently at the screen, her breath baited. _Come on,_ she thought. She'd already gotten lucky when it turned out that the forcefield mechanisms hadn't been too badly damaged to work by that fight. She'd already gotten lucky when it turned out that Mettaton had left them alone and hadn't messed with anything in them just to spite her. Surely, she could get lucky just once more?

Somewhere else, footsteps resounded across the rocky ground. Papyrus was almost there, now. It hadn't been a short run, but he was nearing the Core now. He didn't know what he'd do once he got there – he didn't even know what he was up against. But…

The human had turned away from a path of darkness. The human had chosen to be better than that, to be kinder than that. That wasn't an easy thing. But they'd done it, and they'd even told him about it. They'd been brave, braver than anyone could be rightly expected to be – all because they wanted to be something else than what they had been before.

And he wasn't going to let all of that be rewarded with some horrible fate. If the human needed him – and they did, he was sure – he would be there. Whatever happened.

Par looked up at the invisible wall. His gaze turned to Slayer. "Don't suppose you'd happen to know anything about this?"

Slayer shrugged. "No."

The bird monster stomped his foot in frustration. "Dammit!" he yelled. He strode up to the wall and touched it experimentally. He tried to feel something, to figure out something about this wall – if not with his fingers, then with his soul. But when he looked inside to try and find what sort of magic created this wall… he found nothing.

He took a step back, one eyebrow raised. "Huh."

Slayer turned to him.

"The wall doesn't have any magic to it," Par explained. "At least, not that I can sense."

Slayer grunted. "Not magic?"

Par shrugged. "Not likely," he said. "Nothing else could do this. But if it's magic, and I can't detect it…" He sucked in a breath. "Damn. That's advanced."

"What should we do?" Slayer asked.

"I don't know!" Par yelled. "Let me think."

Alphys watched. Her heart beat at a million beats a minute. She'd curled up into a ball on the chair, and she couldn't stop herself from rocking back and forth as she stared at the screen. _Oh god,_ she thought. _Oh god, oh god, oh god. Please._

She started trembling, unconsciously, and found her eyes being drawn away from the screen. _No,_ she told herself, firmly. She still couldn't turn away. She had to watch. She had to see what happened. At the very least, because if she did, then she still could have a chance to get involved if something went too horribly wrong. Maybe she wouldn't be able to do anything, maybe she'd just screw things up even more… but she could at least try. And even besides that, she needed to see it. She needed to know, for sure, what happened here.

After a while, Par sighed, deeply. "Okay," he said. "Look. The kid's trapped behind there, right?"

Slayer nodded. "Yes."

Par said. "So even like this, we're basically rid of them. Hell, if we break through, we just give them a chance to get away and be a thorn in our side once more."

Slayer looked at him, skeptically.

Par paused for a moment. "And besides," he said, "it's not like we need to retrieve Gaster, either. The moment he gets his magic back, he can just teleport out of there himself."

"What if Chara attacks?" Slayer asked.

Par waved a hand dismissively. "Even like that, I'd hope he could fight them off. Otherwise, what the hell are we even doing with him?"

Slayer said nothing. He just looked back over to the rubble.

"Plus," Par said, somewhat reluctantly, "I'm not sure I can break that. Again, it's damn advanced magic." Slayer grunted at that, but said nothing.

"And if someone went to the trouble to make it that hard to spot," Par continued, "they probably made it damn hard to crack, too. I'm really not sure I could get through it."

Slayer looked at Par, his flail growing a bit less distinct. "We're leaving?"

Par looked down. "We're leaving."

A sudden joy appeared on Alphys' face.

She'd done something. She'd done something good. She'd helped someone.

She hollered in victory, the sound resounding throughout the lab. Her arms were flung outwards, stretching towards the ceiling, and an incredible excitement was written on her expression. She cheered again and again, a feeling of palpable relief running through her. She'd done it! They hadn't gotten through! Her flimsy, desperate plan had actually stopped them!

And…

She'd saved someone's life.

That last thought was brighter than all the rest. Chara hated her, she knew. They wouldn't ever forgive her for what she'd done. But still, she'd saved their life. And somehow, the very knowledge that she'd done that was a warm feeling inside her. Suddenly, she felt like she wasn't that bad of a person. If she'd really, truly saved someone's life… if she'd saved the life of someone who hadn't even liked her… could she really be that bad?

She thought about what was underneath her lab, just as she already had far too many times to count. At the thought, she shuddered. Yeah. She still could be. She was still awful. It didn't matter what she did – she'd never be able to make up for the horrific things she'd done before.

But…

She thought about Chara. She thought about what they said they'd done. If they weren't lying – and she wasn't willing to believe they were – they'd done something even worse than she had. They'd committed atrocities even worse than what had happened down beneath her lab. And even if they were able to just reset away most of it, even if most of it had basically never happened now, it'd still happened once upon a time. They were still responsible for hundreds of deaths, and at least one person was suffering forever because of them.

And yet… that wasn't how they were now. They were a good person now. Sure, maybe what they'd done before was never going away, but that didn't mean that they couldn't still be better. They'd chosen to be something else, they'd chosen to no longer be nothing but a sinner – and even if they still bore the weight of their crimes upon their shoulders, that didn't mean they couldn't be a good person ever again.

Maybe that was true for her, too.

Par turned away, angrily, and started walking away from the rubble and the invisible wall. He stepped out of the room, still fuming. Dammit. He'd been robbed of his victory, once more. But it was alright, he told himself. One day, he'd get them. One day. Until then, he'd have to be content with what he had. After all, he had – or, well, Slayer had – basically blocked off the king's castle. That meant he wouldn't be able to get involved in whatever Par did, and neither would the kid. For now, at least, he'd be free of the two of them.

…

Slayer walked alongside him, in smooth, paced, patterned steps.

He felt something odd. Anger, he supposed. He'd never felt anger before, but that was probably what he was feeling now.

It was odd. But that was irrelevant, as was the feeling itself. He shoved them away and walked on.

Something ran towards him and Par. It was a skeleton. Papyrus, if he recalled correctly – Gaster had spoken of him a few times.

He was an obstacle. And besides, Slayer was angry.

Slayer conjured a greatsword, swung once, and that took care of that.


	26. Greyscale

**AN:**

 **GiratinaBeelzemonblaster369** : What can I say? I like making people sad. :P

 **Eatenpickelsticks** : Oh, the real "oh...shit" is just getting started...

* * *

I staggered back to my feet as the walls stopped shaking. Gingerly, I moved my hands away from my ears and took a look around. They'd left. Thank goodness. And, I supposed, thank Alphys, too. I was certain she was the one responsible for that invisible wall.

I closed my eyes. Dammit. I'd almost snapped, back then. I'd nearly killed her. If I had, I'd be dead right now. And I'd have deserved it, too. Hell, maybe I deserved it anyway, just for that overreaction.

A while ago, I'd have probably stopped for a while to dwell on that. But two close brushes with death had reordered my priorities somewhat. I'd have time to dwell later – for now, I needed to act.

I turned back to Gaster, who'd by now risen to his feet. I was pretty certain he still didn't have much magic in him – he couldn't have regenerated it that quickly. Still, with him, there was no such thing as too much caution.

With an intimidating gaze trained on him – I did intimidating gazes well – I clenched my hands into fists. "Tell me why I shouldn't beat you to death right now."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Frisk's face screw up. [Don't worry,] I said before they could shout something at me. [I'm bluffing.]

A wave of relief passed over their face, and they let out a breath. [Oh. Okay,] they said. [Good.]

Gaster stood to face me. If he was at all worried, his face did not betray it. If anything, looking up at that deadly serious gaze made me a bit nervous. For a moment, I started to doubt myself. If he was acting like this, did that mean there was something I wasn't aware of? Did he still have some trump card up his sleeve that he could use to destroy me?

Then I reminded myself it was Gaster I was dealing with. I'd met him many times back in life, and for all his faults, I couldn't deny that the man was impressively stoic. The world could be coming apart around him, and he'd just regard it with a dispassionate expression and calmly analyze how to fix it.

"You won't," he told me, as confidently as if he was stating an obvious fact. His tone left no doubt – in his mind, I really wouldn't. Which, of course, he was right about. Unfortunate.

"Why?" I asked.

"First off," he said, and cocked his head slightly, "you made a promise."

I flinched a bit. Wait, what? He knew about that? That was in Sans' room. Maybe I could see Alphys managing to hide a camera somewhere nearby – to give the devil her due, she really was pretty ingenious. But Gaster? I didn't recall a single time Gaster had been particularly clever. Oh, he was intelligent, and his mind was stunningly logical and analytical – but for all of that, he wasn't particularly shrewd. I could see him perfectly pointing out all the holes in a seemingly foolproof plan – but not making up a foolproof plan himself.

But he knew about the promise one way or another. And yet, he'd just struck a blow against himself – he'd told me that he knew. That meant that now, thanks to his need to demonstrate his superiority, I had a lead. I knew what he was doing. It was just a matter of finding out how.

But that could come later.

"Hm. I suppose I did," I said. "And so what? You can't honestly believe I'm the sort to keep all of my promises. Especially not when you've been as annoying as you have." I was still bluffing, of course. I had absolutely no intention of breaking my promise. But he didn't need to know that.

A small smile appeared on his face. It wasn't a smirk, but it gave the same impression as one anyway. "Really? Go on, then."

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. Damn it. He'd seen through me.

But maybe there was still some hope. Maybe if I could scare him badly enough, I could still pull something good out of this. I settled into a fighting stance. "Maybe I will."

Gaster made a small motion of his head and rolled his eyes. He remained silent.

I stood like that for a few moments, waiting for him to do something. He didn't. I hissed in frustration and stood down. "How did you know?"

He looked sideways at me. "What?"

I sighed. "That I was bluffing."

He turned to the side. "Because I've been watching you. And I know just about everything that's happened since the start of this… this chaos."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yeah. I got that. Doesn't explain how you knew I wouldn't break my promise."

He made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan. "Because unlike you," he said, turning his head back towards me, "I have a modicum of common sense."

Okay. That, at least, we could agree on.

"That's nice," I said. "Get to the point."

He started pacing around the hallway as he spoke. "It was obvious from watching you. The way you've behaved throughout this… run, as you call them. The way you spilled your secrets to just about everyone who came along. And perhaps most tellingly, your last direct interaction with the new Royal Scientist."

He stopped and turned to face me, meeting my eyes. "I don't know what that nightmare you had in Papyrus' house was about," he said, very seriously. "But were I to guess, I would say it was about what you did previously."

I stared at him for a moment. Then, my gaze sidled over to Frisk, floating beside me. They were gazing at him with that same stunned expression I imagined I'd just had.

[Oookay,] they finally said, dragging the word out. [That's creepy.]

[Agreed,] I responded.

"Yeah," I said. "I guess it was. What does that have to do with anything?"

He closed his eyes and adjusted his tie, though if he was aiming to fix some sort of imperfection, I couldn't see it. "It is simple," he said. "It serves as the final evidence of what I have believed for a long while now. You are afraid of what you once were."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "That is not a bad thing, not necessarily," he continued. "In fact, I believe that if not for your fear of turning back into what you were before, you would not have been able to stop yourself from slaying Alphys." I felt a bit offended at that. Really? He thought I was that close to actually killing her?

"And yet," he said, "in certain circumstances, that very fear may be a liability. It is the reason I do not believe you would be able to kill someone, or choose to kill someone, in cold blood. I do not discount the possibility that you may still kill in the heat of battle, or when caught up in emotion – but as long as your thinking remains even somewhat rational, I cannot see you making that choice. Your fear prevents you."

"Oh," I said. "So that was why you weren't worried. You knew I wouldn't kill you simply because you knew I wouldn't do something like that."

"Precisely," Gaster said. "At least you have some shred of intellect remaining."

I rolled my eyes. "Right," I said. "Well, we're alone now, and I still don't think you can seriously harm me in your current state." Gaster narrowed his eyes at me. "So, in the meantime, how about you tell me a few things?"

He looked to the side for a few moments, as if thinking. "That depends on what you want to know."

[Ooh!] Frisk called to get my attention. [Ask him what the knight's name is! Feels weird just calling him _the knight_.]

I glanced towards them and, barely, suppressed a sigh. But I supposed it could be worth knowing. "Alright," I said to Gaster. "How about this: What's the knight called?"

"His name is Slayer," he replied. "Before you ask, Par came up with it."

Uh.

I turned to Frisk. [Uh. You heard that too, right?]

[Uh-huh,] they nodded.

I glanced back and forth between them and Gaster a few times. [Well then. Looks like Asgore has some competition in the bad-naming department.]

Frisk broke out into a short burst of laughter. [Maybe.]

"…Okay," I said.

I thought about what to ask next for a moment. All I could think of was something like _How are you spying on me?_ , but that didn't seem like something I'd get a straight answer to. But then again… might as well try.

"How are you spying on me?" I asked.

Gaster narrowed his eyes. "Surely you do not expect me to simply tell you that."

"No, not really," I said. "But I figured it was worth a shot."

He sighed and put a hand to his forehead.

"Okay, fine," I said. "Let's try something else. How are you alive?"

He turned his head to the side. "Back when I died," he said, "I did not _die_ as such. Not in the way you think of it.

"As I assume you know – of course, I cannot be certain, but it seems likely that it would be common knowledge – I died by falling into the Core, my own creation. However, the Core's power did more than simply kill me. The raging maelstrom of nigh-endless magical power at its center tore me apart, yes, but it did not simply tear apart my body – magic at that level of power and quantity does not settle for anything so simple.

"Instead, the Core tore apart my soul. It tore apart my soul so quickly and so viciously that it did not even have time to shatter in the usual sense, as monster souls usually do – and so, I did not, technically, die. And so, the tiny shards of my still-living soul scattered throughout the Underground. During that time, I saw everything. Every single thing that happened down here was within my purview. And yet, I was too insubstantial to do anything. I could observe everything – yet change nothing.

"That was, until Par found me. No one else could have – the only way to detect any part of my soul would be to find the traces of residual magic it left behind, and those were too small to be found by any normal monster. But Par's own magic was powerful enough that he could see a trace even as miniscule as mine, and so, eventually, he did. He was hardly a particularly knowledgeable man, and he did not figure out exactly what had happened – but he had figured out enough. And from there, it was simple. The scattered pieces of my soul, on some level, wanted to reattach – but they could not, because there was nothing to bond them. But Par's magic could do just that.

"All he had to do was add enough magic to a single piece of my soul that it could hold it all together. From there, my soul flew together on its own." Gaster paused for a few moments. "And that is how I came to stand here."

I blinked at him a few times. "Uh…" I said. "Hold on."

He glanced curiously at me.

"Sooo…" I started, "you died too quickly to die?"

Gaster sighed. "Yes, I suppose that in a way, one could say that. Of course, what actually happened was rather more complicated – but to tell the truth, I do not understand it very well myself, either. I can hardly give you a proper explanation."

I shrugged. "Alright. Fair enough."

Then I sat down, and just sat there for a few moments. Gaster had just told me a whole lot of things, and I needed a bit of time to process it all. So, basically speaking, the Core tore him into a bunch of little pieces, but it didn't kill him as such. So, he was stuck as nothing more than useless little pieces of a soul, until the bird – Par – put him back together. And then he was fine again.

My eyes went wide for a moment. Wait a moment. Par had put him back together. Par had put him back together using his own magic.

Everything came together.

"Ooooh," I said, under my breath. "So that's why."

Frisk glanced at me curiously. [Hm?]

I looked up at Gaster. "I get it, now," I said.

"Hm?" he said.

"I think I know why you serve the bird," I said. "I think I know why he has that sort of power over you. And if I'm right…"

Gaster tilted his head. "Go on."

"When Par put you back together," I began, my voice slowly gaining more confidence as I went, "he used his own magic. And that magic is still his own, isn't it? He can still manipulate it."

Gaster froze, going every bit as still as a statue. That told me everything I needed to know.

"That's why he can torture you like that," I said. "All he needs to do is lighten his magic's effect for a moment or two, and you get to experience your soul being torn apart. Then, he just puts it back to maximum power, and it's like nothing ever happened – but you remember that pain.

"That's why you serve him. Isn't it?"

Deafening silence hung in the room. Gaster turned his head, the motion so slight it was almost imperceptible, and the little rustle of cloth that came from his suit as he did filled the room.

"What difference does it make?" he finally said, his tone as cold and unyielding as steel.

It made quite a bit of difference, actually.

If I was right, Gaster wasn't a willing ally. He was… effectively a slave, forced against his will to serve the bird. Whatever wrath I wished to cast upon Par, he deserved no part of it. And yet I couldn't just let him be, either. The bird would use him to his fullest extent – and I had no right to make him endure the sort of torment he would be subjected to, were he to try and rebel. And besides, there was every chance that if he went against Par, Par would simply let his magic disperse entirely – and let Gaster's soul shatter once more.

Whatever I did to Par, I'd have to keep Gaster out of it. And yet, I couldn't expect Gaster to disobey Par's orders, either. He would do whatever he was told – and I suspected that, in his position, I'd do the same. Who wouldn't?

I exhaled. Holy hell. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Unless…

I thought back to everything I knew that could help. I thought about what I'd learned of magic, and more importantly, of souls back when I was alive. It was a rather great wealth of knowledge – I was, after all, technically of royal blood (legally, anyways). Of course, none of it dealt with anything resembling this situation – and the fact that my memory of those sorts of things was muddled, at best, did not help matters.

And yet, maybe there was something. Matters of the soul were not, actually, all that complicated – mysterious, yes, not very well understood, yes. But what was known was, overall, fairly simple. All souls had a certain amount of power, human ones much more so than monster ones. This power could, in monsters, be channeled towards magic; what it did in humans was less clear, but in some specific cases, it was known to make utterly extraordinary things happen – like, I supposed, my resets. Monster souls, due to their weakness, were unable to last for long outside of the host's body, but this was not true for human souls. The soul of a human could remain on its own for quite a while, even if no measures to preserve it were taken – and if they were, it could last basically forever. Due to this, monsters could absorb the soul of a human, taking its power and channeling it towards their magic to produce a being greater than either a monster or a human – but the reverse was not true. A human could never absorb a monster's soul. And, for unknown reasons, a human could not take another human's soul, either.

That was basically all there was to it. All that was known, anyway.

I racked my brain frantically, willing it to come up with some answers. Was there anything, anything at all in there that could help? There was almost certainly a way – I wasn't willing to believe something that vile was irreversible. But with what I knew, could I figure it out?

My eyebrows shot up. Actually… maybe.

I'd forgotten one thing, one other thing I knew about souls – they could shatter. I knew that much. Gaster was confirmation enough, of course, but I'd seen it happen myself many times – back during all my previous runs, when I…

I shuddered. Never mind.

But I'd seen it before. The circumstances were ones that I now wished could have never existed, but that didn't change the facts. I'd seen souls shatter. And if Gaster was any indication, the pieces of a soul retained at least something from their old form when they came apart – after all, he spoke as if he'd been aware while he was shattered, and that couldn't have happened if the shards of his soul really were nothing more than useless shards.

So, if souls retained some measure of their self when they came apart, it would make sense if they retained other things too. Like, for instance, power. Of course, the pieces of a soul only had a tiny fraction of what the original had had – but with how powerful human souls were, even that fraction could still be noticeable if it came from the right soul.

According to Gaster, the reason the bird – Par – was the only one able to pull off his enchantment was because of his sheer amount of power. And because it was his magic, he was still able to influence it. But what if something could be done so it wasn't his magic anymore? What if something else could be put there, too – not necessarily holding Gaster's soul together on its own, but at least forcing Par's magic to remain there? It'd need something extraordinarily powerful to do it, and that something would need to be something a monster could absorb – but it could be done.

And there was something that matched that description. A human soul.

But I'd prefer not to die. And besides, I was still quite unsure of the idea of trusting Gaster with a human soul – that sort of thing gave a lot of power, and Gaster had always been a bit of a prick, even before the bird had gotten to him. Yet, there was a solution. All I had to do was use a piece of one. It would, hopefully, have enough power to keep Par's magic in place – and not enough left over for Gaster to get uppity.

Even that, though, left the problem of how I could get a piece of a human soul. I'd seen my own soul shatter many times – it would do so whenever I died in one of my previous runs. But as far as I knew, that still required me to die, and… I didn't want to die. Perhaps I could try to literally chip a shard off of one of the ones Asgore had in his possession, but even that idea had two problems: first, I'd need to figure out a way to get to them, and second… it'd be sabotaging everything Asgore had worked for. True, now that I thought about it, I didn't approve of his plan either, but simply ruining it now would be… just cruel. And it'd result in one more human dying, since I doubted a chipped human soul would work.

(Though, I realized with a start, I'd eventually have to face that problem myself. My soul was the last Asgore needed. That was worrying… but I put the thought aside for now. I had better things to think about.)

There was probably, I figured, a way to get a little shard of my soul without killing myself. After all, if it shattered when I died, that meant it was responsive to physical damage in one way or another. And I knew someone's soul could be torn to pieces while still keeping them alive – the proof was standing right in front of me.

But I didn't know how. Damn it. I had all the steps figured out, but… I just didn't have what I needed to actually do it. I just didn't have the information I needed. I needed help. I needed someone who knew more than me.

A lightbulb went off inside my head, and I had to stop myself from smiling.

Someone who knew more than me. Like, say… the person standing right in front of me right now?

"Okay. Never mind," I said, trying to sound as casual as possible. It was hard, and my voice still came out a little excited. "But while we're talking about souls, I'm curious about something."

"Speak."

"Well… I'm assuming you know about my power, right?" I asked. Judging by what he'd already said, he almost certainly did, but it couldn't hurt to make sure.

"Of course," Gaster said.

"Right. Well, back in my previous runs," I said, "I… died. A lot. I mean, obviously, it didn't stick, but… I died. Many times.

"And, well, whenever I did," I continued, trying not to sound too nervous, "my soul always shattered. And I've been wondering – why? I mean, I know human souls normally remain after death, so…"

"That is not an easy question to answer," Gaster said. "The simple fact is, you are a very unique case. There are no records of anyone else having the same sort of power as you. That means that there is no information on how, exactly, that power works. However, it seems likely that one way or another, that power is responsible for what you speak of.

"The most likely explanation, I think, is this: The reason human souls persist after death at all is due to their determination, due to their will to live. But normally, that will cannot actually return them to life, and so, all it does is force their soul to linger. Yet in your case, it can do just that – and that means that there is no need for it to also try and keep your soul intact. It can do better than that, after all."

"Huh," I said. That was actually pretty interesting. It wasn't what I was looking for, though. "So, if a human just didn't have enough determination, their soul would shatter, too?"

Gaster considered it for a moment. "I suppose," he said. "Though as far as I know, the existence of such a human would be nigh-impossible."

"So, a soul sort of responds to what happens to the body?" I asked. "Like, if a human's physical body dies, the soul would shatter if not for the determination keeping it there?"

"Yes," Gaster said. He seemed somewhat apprehensive, as if he was aware this was leading to something. Which, I supposed, he probably was. I wasn't exactly hiding it all that well.

"Is it only on death?" I asked. "Or could the soul break apart in some other way, too? I mean, I know it can – you're living proof – but, you know… without things like the Core."

Gaster raised an eyebrow. Or, well. His eye twitched in a way that basically suggested the same thing. "It's possible," he said. "In fact, it happens rather often, though – as far as I am aware – only in humans. A severe enough wound in a human can rather easily cause a tiny piece of the soul to break off, especially if it draws blood – in that particular case, a shard of the soul will usually flow out alongside the blood. But regardless, that piece isn't going to be big enough to really matter."

I tried to stop a grin from breaking out on my face. I ended up cracking a small smile anyways.

Gotcha.

"Alright," I said. "So, hey, Gaster… you said Par could control you because his magic's the only thing holding your soul together. Right?"

Gaster's gaze suddenly grew very, very cold. I ignored it. "Well, I've been thinking," I said. "If I just gave you a little piece of my soul – and according to what you just said, I could do that – couldn't it work to keep him from breaking your soul up again? I mean, if part of my soul was infused with his magic, he wouldn't be able to manipulate it anymore. Yeah?"

Gaster stared me in the eye, brow (insofar as he had one) furrowed, an unamused expression on his face. Suddenly, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, and he glared at me with a piercing gaze. Silence reigned, and I could hear my heart beating in my chest. Still he looked at me, and in his eyes, I could see silent contempt. He looked upon me with all the warmth reserved for a particularly annoying bug.

"It is possible," he finally growled. "However, NO."

That took me aback.

"Wait," I said, "why?"

Still he met my eyes, and somehow, his gaze seemed even colder than before. "You are arrogant. And presumptuous. I will say no more."

"Thanks," I muttered. "How helpful."

Well, damn. That sort of ruined that plan. Did Par have something else, too? Or was Gaster scared of him for some other reason? Or, or, or…

Damn it. There were too many possibilities. I needed something more concrete.

[Well,] I thought at Frisk. [Any ideas?]

[Um… uh…] They sighed. [No.]

I rolled my eyes. [Alright,] I said. [Let's think about this. Why would Gaster not want me to put his soul back together?]

[Maybe he's…] They smiled nervously. [Worried about you? Like, worried about what'll happen to you.]

I – barely – stopped a small smile from spreading across my face. [Pull the other one.]

Frisk sighed. [Alright, alright.]

I ran through the information I had. Given what I knew about Gaster, and what I knew about the bird, and what I knew about souls…

Eureka. Just had to check one thing.

[Hey, Frisk,] I said. [You remember what Gaster said it was like? You know, when he was shattered?]

[He could see everything, but interact with nothing,] they said. [At least, I think. Though I'm not sure how he could even see things like that.]

Again, I had to stop a smile. [Come on, Frisk,] I said. [Think about it. I mean, souls don't really work like physical things do, do they?]

[Uh… I guess not?] Frisk said, a bit confused. [Soo… I guess maybe the little pieces of his soul could, like, each see things on their own?]

This time, I couldn't stop the smile. It was more of a smirk, actually. [Precisely.]

"Oh," I said out loud. "I get it."

Gaster said nothing, but I was pretty sure I was right. "When Par put you back together," I said, "the spell wasn't perfect, was it?"

Suddenly, Gaster went very, very still, and his face set into an expression entirely too calm to be genuine. That confirmed it. "It attracted most of your soul," I continued. "But some pieces of it were still left out there, just floating around, because there wasn't quite enough magic there to hold them, too.

"That's how you spied on me. That's how you knew everything that happened. Those little pieces of your soul… they're your eyes and ears now, aren't they?"

Gaster said "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Hey, Gaster," I smiled. "Let me give you a bit of advice. People who really have no idea what someone's talking about never use that line."

Silence.

"Fine," Gaster said. "You're right. It seems you are smarter than you look."

I spread my arms. "Oh, I know," I said jovially.

And then, I folded my arms, and my tone turned cold. "You know what this means, don't you?

"You stopped me from giving you a bit of my soul because doing that would give the spell that little push it needed to be perfect. I do that, and you lose, at the very least, your ability to see things from a distance – and who knows what else, too. So, you know what that tells me? You don't even care about being enslaved to the bird as long as it gives you power.

"You care more about power than you care about your freedom. Don't you? Because, god, that's stupid. You know, I've always thought those sorts of people were only ever found in storybooks. But no. Apparently, you really ARE that much of a me-"

"SHUT UP!"

The two words stunned me into silence. They were said with such force, such hatred that the atmosphere of the room seemed to change to suit them, and suddenly, the idea of continuing to speak seemed utterly unthinkable.

That had always been a power Gaster possessed. Though, calling it a power was a stretch – it was really just a skill. And yet its effect was so absolute, so indomitable that it might as well have been magic.

I sort of wished I could do that. It'd be neat.

"You think the only reason I serve is for the power?!" he snapped at me. "You think I am nothing more than a slave?! You conceited cur!"

I took a few steps back. "I serve," Gaster spat, "because when all monsterkind had forgotten me, when none had even thought to question my death, Par was the one to help me. I was abandoned, shoved to the side as if I was naught more than another pile of dust. Do you know how horrid it was? Do you have any idea how it feels to see everything, to see all the horrors that ever happen in the Underground, and be powerless to change it?!

"THAT is what Par saved me from! THAT is why I serve! Because unlike you, I understand the concept of loyalty!"

I glanced around nervously. [Unlike me?] I thought at Frisk.

They shrugged. [He's upset. Don't worry too much about what he says.]

[Yeah,] I said. [Fair enough.]

I gathered my courage and looked Gaster in the eyes. It was horrible. Anger twisted his face – but it was a calm, cool anger. There was something in that face that told me he was ready and willing to kill me. I knew that if he had enough magic, he would. I'd looked at faces like that before – but before, it'd never affected me like this. Gaster's expression terrified me. I didn't know why, but something in the back of my mind, something very basic and primal, told me to run, run and never stop running.

I shuddered. Another talent of Gaster's.

But I could hardly turn tail now. I pushed my fear away. It didn't go away – there was no way I could make it do that – but at the very least, I managed to think past it.

"Huh. That's funny," I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking too much. "You said you witnessed horrors. You said that was why it was so horrible. And now you cause them yourself?"

"Surely you do not expect me to deny Par my gratitude," he said, coldly. "Besides, the monsters forgot about me. They deserve whatever happens to them."

And in an instant, the fear fled my mind, replaced by burning rage.

I took a few deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out.

"Ah," I said. "I see."

And then I snapped.

"I thought you were at least a decent person," I said. "I thought Par was just forcing you to work for him. But no. That's not bloody true, is it?! You're every bit as horrible as he is, you arrogant bastard! Just because they forgot about you?! Just because they had the audacity to assume that someone who seemed dead in every way was actually dead?! Really?! I'm bloody sorry they didn't expect something completely unprecedented to happen! And now that the goddamned bird saved you, you need to serve him? People have DIED because of him, you idiot! But no – just because he did one good thing to you, you need to do whatever he wants you to. And to hell with how it'll hurt everyone else, right?!"

I exhaled. "You know… I ought to thank you, really," I said, my voice suddenly very calm. "I was wondering how I'd get my revenge on the bird without dragging you into it. But I guess I don't have to worry about that now."

I brushed past him and walked down the corridor towards New Home, not glancing back at him as I left.

And then something yanked at my soul, and I was dragged back down the hallway. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gaster step aside just before I flew into him, and then, with a gesture of his hand, the magic on my soul changed and threw me against the wall.

"A word of advice," Gaster said. "When the only thing stopping your enemy from killing you is that he's exhausted at the moment, don't pause to talk."

Oh. Damn it. Right.

I struggled to think of a retort. Nothing came up. The hell of it was, he was right.

Gaster took a deep breath. "However… I suppose I have reason to be grateful to you, as well. You did offer to help me." He paused for a moment, clearly trying to calm himself down. "I will not kill you. And if you leave us alone, right now, I will do my best to stop Par from trying to do so too."

Really, now? He wanted me to leave their band of murderers alone? I spat in his face. "Go to hell."

He narrowed his eyes. "I suspected as much."

Then he lunged forward. I tried to roll away, but he was already too close, and his bony hand gripped my neck. Suddenly, there was a dizzying sensation of change – and then, he stood in the room just before the hallway, the one where Par and Slayer had remained after the cave-in. He released me, and I fell onto the hard floor.

"Then this is my last gift to you," he said. "You are free to return to your friends, for now. When we next cross paths, it will be as enemies once more." And then he simply vanished.

"Yeah," I said, for my own benefit. "I'm perfectly fine with that."

And then, I turned, steaming in my anger, and walked out of the room, back in the direction of Hotland. Well, that entire journey had been a massive failure. I'd nearly died, I'd learned exactly how horrible a monster could be, and I hadn't even gotten to Asgore. I supposed I had gotten quite a bit of information, but it was hard to feel happy about that right now.

[Cheer up, Chara,] a voice from my head said. [It's not so bad.] But Frisk didn't sound all too cheery themselves.

[Shut up,] I told them, tiredly.

They were silent for a moment. […Okay.]

My feet just barely not dragging behind me, I took the few steps towards the elevator that would take me back down. As I did, I stepped in something. I pulled my foot back and looked down.

On the floor, there was a pile of dust. A bright red scarf lay next to it.


	27. Regression

Something broke inside of me.

I knew I should've been feeling sadness, despair, regret, longing. Or at least, I should've been feeling anger, an unquenchable rage burning inside of me to tear whoever was responsible to pieces. I should've broken down crying, or failing that, I should've screamed in rage and dismay.

I didn't. There was just a single, perfectly cold thought inside my mind.

Papyrus was dead. His killer would pay.

[…oh. Oh, god,] Frisk said, horrified. I barely heard them, but I halfheartedly turned in their direction anyway. They were looking down at Papyrus' dust, a shocked expression on their face. [Oh, god,] they said again, almost whispering it.

I clenched my fist, and I felt it unconsciously go towards my pocket. But I didn't have my frying pan in there anymore, did I? No. I'd figure out what to do about that later.

I peeked back into the room where the fighting had taken place. The door was still blocked off. Of course, I'd known that, but I just had to check. It didn't really matter, anyway. The only thing past there was New Home, and Papyrus had died here. Since the only people I could imagine doing it were the bird, his knight, or Gaster, and one of them wasn't present at that time, that left only Par or Slayer. And neither of them had any interest in New Home, not until it was time to make their move and try and claim the souls – and I doubted the time had come yet. More than likely, they were still somewhere else.

And then I remembered what else was in New Home. And suddenly, I realized that I had to get that door clear.

My hand went into my other pocket, and I searched around until I found what I was looking for – my cell phone. I hadn't used it for a while, but I supposed the unusual circumstances had jogged my memory. I pulled it out and called Alphys. She answered after a few seconds, and I said "Hello," into the transmitter. My voice was surprisingly calm, even to me.

[C-Chara?] Frisk asked. I didn't answer.

"C-Chara?!" Alphys almost yelled.

"Yeah," I said. "It's me."

"L-look," she frantically said, "I… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's okay," I told her. It really wasn't. But I had more important things on my mind right now. "We got off on the wrong foot. But let's put that behind us."

"U-uh…" she stammered. "O-okay…" I didn't blame her for sounding nervous. I hardly sounded like myself. But I found it hard to care about that right now.

"I'd like you to do me a favor," I said in a friendly tone. "Is that alright?"

"O-oh!" she said. "Of course!"

"Good," I smiled, though she couldn't see it. "I'm assuming you've still been watching me, right?"

"Uh…" she said, sounding ashamed. "Ye… yeah."

"Okay," I said, my tone still jovial. And then, suddenly, I let it harden into something as cold and sharp as crystal. "STOP." It almost reflected how I felt on the inside.

She yelped from the other side of the phone. "O-okay," she whimpered.

My voice mellowed out again. "But since you've still seen everything up until now… you know that little cave-in in the Core, right?"

"Y-yeah…?" she said, hesitantly.

"I'd like you to clear that out for me," I said. "As quickly as possible, please."

"U-um… okay…" she said. She sounded apprehensive. "B-but it'll still take some time. I mean, I think I can get it done fairly soon, but…"

"That's okay," I assured her. "I've got a few things I want to do first anyway."

"O-okay," she replied, a bit more calmly. "I'll get it done as soon as I can!"

"Thank you, Alphys," I said. And with that, I hung up.

[Uh… Chara?] Frisk asked me. [Why do you need that cleared?]

[Don't worry about it,] I told them.

[O…kay,] they said.

Then, I started walking towards the elevator. I took two steps before pausing for a moment, and then, I turned around, reached down, and picked Papyrus' scarf off the ground. It was coated with dust – both the mundane dust from the Core's floor, and the dust Papyrus had left behind when he'd died. I stuffed it into my pocket. Frisk looked concerned, but they didn't say anything.

That done, I walked into the elevator and went down to the start of the Core. I walked through Hotland, taking the shortest possible path, all the way to Waterfall. I went past that, too, and went into Snowdin. Finally, I walked up to Sans and Papyrus' – or, I supposed, just Sans' now – house, lifted my arm, and knocked on the door.

The door swung open. Sans stood in the doorway, his usual grin on his face. "sup, kiddo," he said.

"Hey, Sans," I said, pleasantly, and stepped inside. I took a cursory look around the place. "Where's Toriel?"

"oh, she went back to the ruins," he said. "seemed worried about something."

"Ah," I said. Of course, I had a pretty good idea of what – or rather, who – she was worried about.

"You know," I said, never letting the cheer fade from my voice, "I saw the knight today. The one you saved me from, remember? And I saw a bird monster with him, too. I know him. He's the knight's master, apparently… though I can't say I know why, exactly."

"huh," he said. "what happened?"

"Well," I said, grinning a little too widely for it to look genuine, "they went in a certain direction. I followed them, after a few minutes or so. You want to know what I found?"

"sure," Sans said.

And with that, in an instant, the cheer disappeared from my face as I took the red scarf from my pocket. "This," I said, and my voice was as cold as ice.

Sans' eyes snapped to it. His expression suddenly changed, settling into something I couldn't recognize. Dismay, shock, disbelief and anger were written on his face all at once, along with a dozen other emotions. He stared at it, speechless.

"You saw the knight," I reminded him. "I don't remember the specifics, but I know you saved me from him. In other words, you knew he'd beaten me. You knew how powerful these monsters were."

I lunged at him and grabbed him by his jacket. He didn't teleport away, probably because he was still too shocked to do anything. "So why the HELL did you let him go out there?!" I yelled at him.

[Uh, Chara…!] Frisk called out. It was annoying, but I ignored them.

"You KNEW the danger!" I shouted. "You knew I couldn't reset anymore! You knew that there were powerful, evil monsters going around! Hell, you knew they'd killed Undyne! And you just let Papyrus go out there?!"

Finally, I seemed to get through to him. He looked back at me, rage boiling inside him, and vanished from my grasp. He reappeared a meter or so away. "what was i supposed to do?" he asked, and though he wasn't shouting, his voice made his displeasure clear anyways. "stop him?"

"YES!" I yelled. "He's your younger brother, for god's sake! You know how nice and kind and harmless he is… was! Of course you should've bloody well stopped him when he decided to go out towards the deadly monsters!"

"it was his choice!" he snapped at me.

"A choice that got him killed!" I said. "A choice that got him killed because he didn't know what he was up against! And you should've bloody well known that!"

He opened his mouth as if to shout something back at me, but then stopped. He looked to the side, anger in his eyes.

"Bloody hell," I muttered. "I should've known. You're too damn lazy to even protect your brother."

And then, Sans flung his hand outwards, and I flew at the couch. I smashed against it, the impact surprisingly hard despite the soft material, and slumped down to the floor a moment later as he released the spell. "How dare you?" he asked. Sans' voice had no obvious emotion in it – but just beneath the surface, I could hear the restrained anger, straining to get out. And I recognized that voice. It was a voice he only used very, very occasionally. I'd heard it a few times, in my previous runs. The only times he'd ever used it were when he was very, very angry at me – and that was back when I was murdering everyone. To hear him use it now… it told me, very clearly, just how badly I'd insulted him.

Good.

"What?" I spat. "Can't argue with me? Did you even think about what would happen, when he left? Did you realize the danger, and decide you couldn't be bothered to go help him? Or did you not even realize how much trouble he was in? Did you just forget how dangerous it all was and figure it would all turn out okay? Honestly, I'm not sure which is worse."

I paused for a moment. "Or," I said, even more contempt in my voice now, "were you just so absorbed in your own wallowing you didn't even realize he was gone?"

Sans' pupils vanished, his eyes turning to nothing more than empty, dark pits. His ever-present grin faded, and his expression settled into something cold and hard. He froze in place, and though I couldn't see where he was looking, I somehow knew he was staring right at me, anger pulsing through him.

And then his hand shot upwards, and I flew at the ceiling. [Chara!] Frisk shouted, floating by my side, their face a mask of terror. I filtered them out and twisted around in midair, landing with my feet on the ceiling. I turned towards Sans, rage still running through me, and he glared back at me.

Then his spell vanished.

I fell to the ground, and this time, it wasn't his magic pulling me. It was just gravity – and gravity wasn't as kind. There wasn't enough time to right myself, not enough time to pull any fancy tricks. I just hit the ground headfirst, and horrific pain shot up my spine as I collapsed. The pain, of course, still didn't bother me, and I rolled to the side, instinctually trying to dodge any further attacks. Or at least, I tried, but the world seemed like I was looking at it through a haze, and the moment I moved, a sudden dizziness and nausea seized me. I barely managed not to throw up, though I wasn't sure if I even had anything in my stomach to throw up, and ended up pathetically tumbling along the ground. With an effort of will, I forced myself to concentrate, and the world slowly swam into slightly clearer focus. My head was still hazy, but awkwardly, I managed to push myself to my feet.

Not for long, though. Almost the instant I stood, I felt weak, and my head felt as heavy as a steel weight. My legs gave out, and I sank to the ground, still too dizzy to even register displeasure at the notion. I looked up – the motion was far more difficult than it should've been – and saw Sans.

He was looking at me. His pupils were back, and his expression was different. It seemed all the anger had fled him, and he stared at me with an expression of guilt and concern on his face. "oh," he muttered to himself, and the sound reached me as though my ears were full of water.

"kiddo," he said, his voice a bit louder, "jeez. i'm sorry."

I tried to say something snappy. It came out as nothing more than a wordless grunt, and even that little effort caused a sudden pain behind my eyes that made my jaws snap shut.

"uh," Sans said, worry thick in his words. "let me just…" He came over to me and put an arm under my shoulder. I was too scrambled to fight it, and I just let him walk me over to the couch and sit me down. My head lolled down against the back, and I let myself lean against the cushions. The pain receded, until it was just a light mist over my thoughts, and though the world was still blurred and unclear, I started slowly feeling a bit like myself again.

"jeez," Sans said. "you… you okay there?"

"I'll live," I muttered. It didn't hurt as much anymore, but a few flashes of pain still came to me.

"that's good," Sans said, and paused. "i guess."

"Uh-huh," I said. I didn't actually nod. That still seemed daunting. Instead, I just relaxed and fell back against the couch.

Sans didn't say anything, and after a few moments, Frisk spoke instead. [Chara…] they said, in a concerned tone.

[What?] I asked. Thankfully, it seemed mental communication didn't hurt as much.

[You, uh…] they said. [Why'd you do that?]

[Do what?] I said. My voice came out tired and weak, even in my mind.

[Why'd you… shout at Sans?] they asked, disapproving. [Why'd you say all those things? You knew how much it'd hurt him.]

[He deserved it,] I answered. [He could've saved Papyrus. He didn't.]

[But… Chara…] Frisk said, scandalized. [He couldn't have known that would've happened.]

[No,] I said. [He should've. Or weren't you listening? I said as much to him. He knew just how bad these monsters were.]

[But it's not his fault!] they said.

I tried to shrug, but the motion sent a lance of pain through me, and I settled back down. [Why not?]

[W-well…] they stammered, [you can't expect him to be ready for everything! I mean, I'm sure if he knew what would happen, he would've stopped Paps! But…]

[But what?!] I snapped. [It was obvious! He should've known!]

[No!] Frisk yelled. [I mean… yes, it was obvious. But… I mean… it seems obvious now, sure, but… that doesn't mean it was obvious back then. I mean…. I know it seems silly, but…]

I closed my eyes. The worst part, I realized dimly, was that they were right. Everything they were saying was correct. But, I told myself, Sans was still at fault. He was still to blame. He still could've seen it coming, and he didn't. And I wouldn't forgive him for that.

[I mean…] Frisk continued, [you know what I mean, right? Like… when you think about something, and it's… like, you think _how did I not realize that?_ You know, because it seems so obvious now? But back then, you didn't even realize it.]

[Hindsight,] I told them. [You're talking about hindsight.]

[Oh!] they said, suddenly a bit cheery. That little note in their voice made me smile, and I felt a little bit better. [Thanks, Chara.]

[You're welcome,] I said.

[But… yeah,] they said. [Don't tell me you've never felt like that before.]

I thought about it for a moment. I supposed I had, yeah. But it was never about something this big. Hell, nothing this big had ever happened to me before. Or, well… that wasn't true. Undyne had died, too. But that hadn't felt quite as massive, quite as impactful as this had. Most of the impact that had had on me wasn't even because of her death – it was because of the sudden realization that everything was permanent, now. But really, her death was every bit as big a tragedy as Papyrus', and just because I didn't feel that way myself made it no less true.

I remembered the last time I'd seen her, before her death. She'd said we could have a rematch, when all was said and done. I'd have liked that. But first, she decided to go take care of the bird and his team on her own – and she paid the price for that.

And suddenly, I realized something, and my heart felt like it was in a vise.

I'd known, too. Hadn't I? Hell, I'd known far more than Sans. Sans had only seen the very end of the knight's battle with me – but I'd seen what the bird could really do. I'd seen just how dangerous he was. And I'd known he wasn't a normal monster, too – I'd already known there was something wrong about him, that he knew things and had powers that he shouldn't have had. But I didn't tell her anything. Just like Sans hadn't. Because I hadn't even thought, for even an instant, that she might really die.

Oh god. I… I… I was just as bad as Sans.

[I mean, come on, Chara,] Frisk said to me. [It's not all that simple. Don't blame him. He didn't do anything bad.]

And suddenly, I froze.

If Frisk's situation was anything like mine – and I rather suspected it was – they didn't know anything about my thoughts, not unless I specifically sent them over. What they'd just said wasn't a response to my thoughts. They didn't have any clue what I was thinking about.

But… it was still exactly what I needed to hear. Relief flowed through me. At least it wasn't that bad. Frisk, at least, thought it was okay. And if they did… was it really that bad?

[I…] I said, and then paused, trying to think of something to say. [Yeah. Yeah, I guess.]

[Thanks, Chara,] they said.

I shifted my weight slightly and opened my eyes. The pain was barely there now, and the world looked normal once more. Experimentally, I snapped my fingers. The sound sounded just right. I smiled. It seemed that little conversation had given me a bit of time to recover. Experimentally, I lifted a hand and touched my head. It felt… far from good, but at least nothing horrible happened.

[And you owe Sans an apology!] Frisk yelled from the back of my mind, half-jokingly.

[Wait, what?] I asked.

[Uh… yeah,] they said, seriously this time. [You really do. I mean, don't you remember what you said?]

[I…] I thought back to what I'd said to him. [Okay. Yeah. I guess I do.]

"Hey, Sans," I said. It took a bit of effort, but it didn't hurt. "By the way… I'm sorry."

He looked at me. "I mean, for what I said," I explained. "I shouldn't have gotten that angry. That was out of line."

For a moment, he stared at me, unblinking. Then, he said, "yeah. it was."

He wasn't wrong. If anything, that was underselling it. I'd snapped at him, accused him of, basically, killing his own brother. I couldn't even imagine how that must've felt. If just knowing that Paps was dead had set me off that badly… I suddenly understood exactly why he'd attacked me as he did. Hell, I sympathized.

My phone rang. "Oh!" I said. "Hold on, Sans." I took the phone out of my pocket and pressed it to my ear.

"U-um, hi!" Alphys' voice said from out of the receiver. "I've got the path clear!"

I smiled a wolf's smile. "Thanks, Alphys."

"You're welcome!" she said. Then there were a few moments of silence. "Um… b-bye!" And with that, she hung up. I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and looked at Sans.

"Well," I said, "I've got to go. Bye!"

"bye," he said, and I stood up off the couch – trying my best to suppress a little pained cringe as I did – and walked out of the door. The cool Snowdin air cleared my head a bit, and though I was already more or less healed, it was still welcome.

[So,] Frisk asked, [why'd you get her to do that?]

[Oh, you'll see,] I told them. [You'll see.] They looked skeptical, but said nothing.

I went past Waterfall, and then through Hotland. But midway through the Core, I stopped. I looked down at the dust on the floor, at what had once been Papyrus. Most of it was scattered, now, but there was still a faint trace of white on the floor – or maybe I was just imagining that.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging so deep into my skin I briefly wondered if they might draw blood. Someone had killed Papyrus. There was a part of me that wanted to just forget about him, to just forget that he'd ever existed and move on with my life. But I forced myself to remember. I forced myself to remember that first hug we'd shared, the hug which I liked to think had turned me away from my path. I remembered everything he'd done for me – the big things, of course, the things that showed me he cared and that made sure I made the right choices, but the small things, too. That little talk on the couch, when we'd just shared stories with each other… it'd been one of the best moments of my life. But honestly, that was true of a lot of the things he'd done with me. He had, more than anyone else, made me happy, given me the sort of simple joy that could not be easily described but was, perhaps, the greatest feeling in the world.

And now it was all gone.

I let that cold anger flood back into my mind again. I realized, now, why I'd lashed out at Sans. It was because I couldn't do a thing to the person who'd actually killed Paps – so I just blamed someone else, because I was desperate to get some sort of justice, no matter how false. But that would change. Now? Now, I'd take vengeance properly. Now, Papyrus' murderer would pay for his crime.

I stepped past the dust, and walked through the Core into New Home. Once I got to Asgore's castle, a few monsters tried to stop me, tell me stories about the monster kingdom's history. Of course, I already knew all of that. I ignored them all and pushed past them, to my real goal.

It was a particular room. An all too familiar room. And as I stepped in front of the door, Frisk realized what I was planning.

[Chara, no,] they gasped.

[No what?] I asked.

[You're… you're planning to kill whoever did it. Aren't you?] Frisk asked. I said nothing.

[Don't,] they said. [Please. Remember your promise. Promises.]

I froze for a moment. What I said next, I didn't think at Frisk. I just said it out loud into the empty air, my voice cold and harsh. "Will keeping promises give me justice for Papyrus?"

[Well…] Frisk said, [no, but-]

[Then to hell with promises,] I thought at them.

I opened the door. Two boxes were on the floor, wrapped up as if for a holiday. I went to one and opened it. A locket lay inside. It was familiar, and it held significance for me, but I could contemplate that later. For now, I had more pressing things to worry about that. I put the chain around my neck and let the golden heart that hung at the end dangle in front of me.

But my real goal was the other one. I took the few steps towards it, reached down, and opened it. My hand went immediately for the object inside.

The handle of the knife felt comfortingly familiar in my grasp.


	28. Once More

"Found you," I snarled under my breath, my hand already in my pocket.

The monster - the monster I'd been looking for for the past few minutes - was covered in a thick, dirt-brown robe, its hood pulled up, a scarf wrapped around his face. He plodded through Hotland with all the speed of a particularly enthusiastic snail, but all the sheer inexorability of a freight train barreling down its track. What little of his face could be seen from beneath the scarf glowed with a dim yellow glow, and was textured like the steel of an ancient knight's armor.

It was a good enough disguise to make sure anyone who didn't know him yet wouldn't pay too much attention, I supposed. But I wasn't even close to being fooled.

Slayer. The knight. Par's minion. And, I was certain, Papyrus' killer.

It made sense. Gaster couldn't have killed Papyrus – he'd been with me at the time. So, it was Par or Slayer. Slayer had been the one who had come to kill me, and from what the monster kid had told me, he was responsible for Undyne's death too. From that, it seemed easy enough to infer that, effectively, he was Par's hitman. And if that was true, then it made sense that he'd have killed Papyrus, too.

And even if he hadn't, he was still working with Par. He was still my enemy. And fortunately, I'd come across him at a spot of Hotland where, at the moment, there were no other monsters around. That meant I didn't have to explain myself to anybody.

My hand shot out of my pocket, my knife in tow. Its cold steel flashed through the air as I leapt forward, thrusting the blade toward Slayer as I went.

His eyes were already locked on to me. Clearly, he'd had much the same thought I had. By the time I'd charged, he was already moving, and my knife glanced off a massive shield as it formed on his arm. For an instant, we both froze, and then I hopped backwards, ready for whatever he'd try next. He reached towards his robe with his left arm and, with a quick motion of his hand, tore it off alongside the scarf and tossed it to the ground. His disguise now gone, Slayer brought his shield to the side and let it fade, instead conjuring an enormous greatsword in his hand.

"You killed Papyrus," I said. "Didn't you?"

He looked down at me. "Yes," he said, his voice flat, emotionless. As if he was talking about something completely mundane.

And in that moment, a cold, deadly anger flowed through me.

He brought his hand to the side and sliced at me. I ran towards him, slid underneath the blade, and came back up once it had passed overhead. He took a step back, but it was too late. My knife flashed once again, but his armor, though it was made of nothing more than magic, deflected the blow. Before he could do anything else, I brought my knife back once more and stabbed at him. The tip of the blade pressed against his armor, but went no further.

My rage pressing me on, I leaned into the blow, putting all of my weight behind the knife. Of course, I would've stood no chance against actual steel – but magic wasn't that simple. Magical attacks, and even active magical defenses, worked as one might have expected – but even the strongest magical armor could be penetrated by a driven enough attacker.

The magic of his armor split before my assault, and the blade of my knife sunk into him.

I'd attacked people before, of course. I'd done it many, many time. But all of those times, it was only because my foe was standing in my way, or because I simply wanted to fight them. It was never anything personal. But this? This was different. This was the first time, ever, that I had struck someone for hate's sake.

It.

Felt.

Good.

My anger coursed through me as I struck, and as I watched the knife cut into him, a cold sense of satisfaction overtook me. To see him get what he deserved, to be able to be the one to mete out justice for his crimes… it was amazing. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to kill him, to make him pay for his crimes. My instincts, my emotions, they drew me onwards, willing me to strike him down.

I was happy to oblige.

Slayer took a step back, seemingly unbothered by the blow. I tore my knife from his body and lunged once more, but he twisted his body ever so slightly, and I found myself unable to gain the leverage I needed. The blade simply glanced off his armor, and as I closed in, he kicked at my feet. I had committed to the strike, and was unable to get out of the way. His feet smashed into mine like a sledgehammer, and my legs dropped out from underneath me, sending me sprawling to the ground. Before he could act again, I rolled away, denying him the chance to land a potentially lethal blow. Quickly, I rose to my feet, and found myself a meter or two away from him.

He let his greatsword fade from existence, and replaced it with what I could only assume was his idea of a dagger. Even that was still larger than most normal swords, if not by that much. He brought it up in front of him and leveled the point at me, as if to ward me away. But I wasn't going to be deterred by something like that. I ran at him and, using my small size to my advantage, ducked low to the ground as I stepped into his range. I slipped past the dagger, and though he took a step back, I still closed the distance and thrust my knife upwards, the point landing on his chin. I pushed it further, trying to penetrate his armor. I wasn't sure even stabbing his head would kill him, but I figured it was my best chance.

[Chara!] Frisk shouted frantically, and I instinctively turned my head to the side. In the chaos, the knight had managed to bring his dagger closer to himself, and I realized with a start I was a moment away from being skewered. My eyes grew wide and I twisted my body away, dodging the dagger's blade, but unfortunately, I was forced to bring my knife away from him too. Before I could advance once more, he punched at me with his free hand, and I was forced to fall back to avoid it. As I stepped back, he sliced at me with his dagger, and I leaned away, just barely avoiding it. As the point passed in front of me, Slayer flung his foot forward, and I was forced to leap even further back to avoid his attack.

He pressed his advantage, taking a step towards me and thrusting his dagger forward. I twisted my body to the side, only for him to advance even further and throw a punch at me. I tried to duck, but off balance as I was, I ended up awkwardly dropping to the ground. Thankfully, that was enough to avoid the punch, but it left me vulnerable. I rolled to the side, coming to my feet as I did, and he turned towards me. I glanced nervously behind me. Hotland was composed mainly of rocky pathways over seas of lava, and our fight was taking place on one such pathway – and I'd just nearly rolled off the side.

Which gave me an idea.

He took another step towards me and swiped his dagger. I ducked the blow and came forward, trying to slice upwards at him. My knife clanged against his armor, and he kicked at me. I stepped to the side and retreated back to the edge of the platform. He took the bait. Once more, he advanced, just a little bit, trying to force me into the lava. He thrust the dagger forward, leaning into the blow, and I twisted my body to the side. His blade passed by in front of my face, narrowly missing me. I looked down. His front foot was just about at the platform's edge.

I ducked down, slicing my knife at his heel. Its blade found purchase, and I pressed down on his armor, willing it to penetrate. The magical plate parted beneath the knife, and the cold steel sunk into his heel. He didn't react, and I pushed forward even more, trying to shove him towards the edge. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and my muscles almost hurt with the effort, but his foot moved inched just a tiny bit forward.

It wasn't even close to enough. He moved his foot forward, tearing it free from my knife, brought it around, and positioned it over me. Before he could stomp downwards and crush me like a bug, I scrambled away to the side and ran up behind him. He had only turned halfway toward me by the time I approached, and I thrust my knife at his back, but he moved his dagger in front of my blow, and my blade slid off his. In the same smooth motion, he punched at me with his other hand, and I was forced to step back to avoid it.

More recklessly than I probably should've, but driven by how temptingly close he was to the edge of the path, I lunged at him, my knife pointed forward. He sliced at me with his dagger, and I stopped just in time to lean away from the blow, but even so, it still cut a thin line of red across my chest. I stumbled backwards. The wound stung, but it was nothing I wasn't used to. I gritted my teeth, telling myself to think clearly. This wasn't the time to get excited. Right now, I had to be cautious, no matter how tempting the alternative might be.

He advanced towards me, and I growled under my breath. Damn it. I needed him to be close to the edge, not getting further away from it. But I supposed he'd figured that out, too.

He sliced diagonally with the dagger, and I stepped back, not willing to risk trying to dodge to the side. He stepped forward with the blow, and nearly caught me, but I leaned back and managed to get just out of his reach. Fortunately, that meant he was now overextended, off balance, and close enough to me that I could act immediately. I thrust my knife upwards, putting all of my weight behind the blow, and struck his chin. The helmet didn't part easily, but part it did, and my knife dealt him another wound – this time to the head. He ignored it, too, but I could swear I heard a barely audible grunt of pain from him.

I pulled my knife back and stepped to the side before I even looked at what he was doing, since I figured that whatever it was, I wanted to get out of the way as fast as possible. His foot sailed through the air where I'd just been, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I darted around him and thrust my knife into his side. I pushed it forwards, carving another wound in him – but this time, I didn't just yank the knife out. As he turned towards me, I pulled the knife to the side with all my strength. The blade cut through him, digging a deep furrow in his body. I pulled it out just in time to duck under his dagger as he swung it at me, then hopped backwards to avoid a kick. I gritted my teeth. He seemed unbothered even by that grievous a wound.

He pressed forward, his dagger cutting lines through the air in front of him, and I retreated, narrowly avoiding each blow. I turned slightly to the side as I went, and he turned too, following me – and thus, inching just a tiny bit closer to the edge. _Come on,_ I thought. _Just keep doing that._ He obliged. He pushed onwards, slicing again and again, and I stepped away from each blow. Finally, just as I reached the edge, he slashed vertically at me, and this time, I twisted my body to the side, avoiding the attack without falling into the lava. He tried another slice, this one horizontal – and that had been what I was waiting for. I ducked, and as I did, he did what I'd expected – he kicked at me. I rolled to the side, just barely dodging his foot, and then, from underneath, I grabbed his raised leg and yanked it forwards. He was heavy, of course, but that particular leg couldn't dig into the ground, and besides, it already had some momentum – I just needed to add to that. I only managed to move it a tiny amount, but that didn't matter. It was enough to unbalance him, and as he awkwardly tried to get his feet back on the ground, the heel of his other foot left the ground.

That was my chance. I sliced at the front of his ankle, and pushed my knife into him. I leaned into the blow as much as I possibly could, desperately trying to move his foot. My muscles ached and burned, but I succeeded – barely. His toes inched backwards a tiny amount, forcing his heel a tiny bit further up… and that was enough.

Combined with his lack of balance, my attack had been the straw that broke the camel's back. His back foot – the one that had remained on the ground – went out from under him, and slowly, he started to topple forwards. I frantically rolled to the side – there was no way getting crushed under him would be pleasant – and moved behind him. I pushed him forwards, feeling the metallic coldness of his armor on my hands. Normally, there was no way I would've been able to move him, but now I was just adding on to momentum that already existed, and I had gravity's help too. He didn't just fall to the ground – he fell off the platform.

I took a step closer to the edge and looked down, watching him with cold eyes. As he started to fall, he let out a grunt of surprise and twisted around in midair, his hand reaching for the platform. I took a step to the side, getting out of the way as he desperately grabbed on to the rock.

I growled in frustration. Damn it. Now I had to figure out a way to get him off there. If I just let him cling on, there was no doubt in my mind he'd come up with some way to get back up before he fell from exhaustion – if he even could get exhausted. But how could I get him off? Even what I'd done before had only been possible thanks to him giving me the opportunity to get him off balance. Like this, there was just about nothing I could do to move him – at least, not that I could see. There was no way I could just kick him off, and I couldn't pry him off either – and with how little pain he seemed to feel, I could spend all day cutting up his hand and not get any results.

And then the rock underneath his hand started to crack.

For a moment, I looked on in confusion, somewhat worried. And then I realized what was happening, and grinned. What had served him so well before was now working against him. His weight was simply too much for the rocky path to support. He could cling on as much as he liked – all he'd do was take some rocks down to hell with him.

The cracks grew, and a few stones slid off the path, vanishing into the merciless heat below. For just a moment, I could swear I saw something like shock and dismay in Slayer's face, and then the miniature rockslide grew. More and more bits of rock slid off, and quickly, they started getting bigger. Finally, the entire chunk of rock onto which Slayer's hand had been holding broke off from the path and slid down, followed by a cascade of smaller rocks and an explosive noise that tore through the air.

I looked over the edge. In the fall, Slayer had let go of even that one rock, and now, for all his power, he tumbled into the lava, as helpless as any of the rocks surrounding him. He shrunk in my vision, becoming little more than a tumbling yellowish shape as he fell down, down, down. I knew he could do nothing. I could picture what was running through his head – the fear, the despair, the sheer disbelief that he was really about to die. And there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was wait for what he knew would be his horrifically painful end.

It was exactly what he deserved.

The scream reached my ears before I even realized I was seeing him finally hit the lava. He screamed, the sound agonized and oddly metallic, and he kept screaming. The noise bounced off the Underground's walls, off Hotland's paths and platforms, and reached my ear as a dozen different echoes. He screamed and screamed and screamed, the piercing scream of the dying, and the sound only stopped when the lava swallowed him. Even then, he was screaming – but the lava drowned and burned the sound, just as mercilessly as it would do to him.

I stared down at the lava for a while more. "That's for Papyrus," I said, coldly.

And then I turned away, and started walking down the path.

[C-Chara…] Frisk said from within my mind.

[Shut up, Frisk.]

[B-but…] they stammered. [You… you said…]

[Don't want to hear it.]

[You said you wouldn't kill anyone!] they said, anger rising in their voice.

I shrugged. [He deserved it. Unless you disagree with that?]

[Of course I disagree!] they yelled. [No one deserves to die! Especially not like that!]

I stopped and narrowed my eyes. [He killed Undyne. He killed Papyrus. He showed no remorse. He would've killed more. He deserved to die. Hell, he needed to die.]

[You killed them all, too!] Frisk yelled. [And you didn't exactly show any remorse until, what, a day ago? Do you deserve to die, too?]

I closed my eyes. [Maybe. But that's not the point.]

Frisk gritted their teeth and hissed. [Dammit, Chara!] My eyes opened and eyebrows shot up. That wasn't the sort of thing they normally said. [You… you just killed someone!]

[Haven't you done that, too?] I asked.

They stopped. [W-well…] they said. [Yeah… but…. that was…]

I scoffed. [Different? How, pray tell?] I folded my arms. [You're not really that much better, you know. Sure, I might've done it for worse reasons, with less regret. Sure, I did it more times. But we both committed genocide. And we've both murdered people.] I looked right at them. [At least now, I'm doing it for a good reason.]

[What good reason?!] they shouted.

I shrugged, again. [You know, back when I was going through the Underground killing everyone… would you really blame Undyne for killing me? Would you blame Sans?]

[W-well…] they stammered. [That was self-defense!]

[Really?] I said, my eyes narrowed. [If that was really all, they could've just ran. They could've just stayed out of my way and hid somewhere, and I never would've done a thing to them. Just like Alphys did.]

[Well, if they did that, you'd just kill all their friends!] Frisk shouted.

I closed my eyes and sighed. [Yes. And Slayer would've killed all of mine.]

For a moment, Frisk was silent. Then, they looked down and to the side. [B-but… to die like that…]

I looked at them, coldly. [Did you see any other way I could kill him?]

[…No,] they said, dejectedly. [I guess not.]

And with that, I continued walking.

For a few steps, we walked in silence. I had nothing to say to Frisk, not until they got over their little vendetta and stopped trying to claim I was the devil himself every time I did something that wasn't all smiles and sunshine. And as for them, I supposed they had their own little things to think about, too. Like, say, how they'd make peace with the fact that their entire worldview had just been torn down. (Never mind that it'd been a hypocritical worldview in the first place…)

And then, a thunderous sound cut through the air.

I whirled around. The head of an enormous halberd was cutting through the stone, embedding itself in the edge of the path. Its handle led all the way down to the lava and vanished into it. Near where the halberd had struck, a small crater had formed from the sheer force of the impact, little bits of rock lying strewn about around its edges.

It took a few moments for me to get my panicked breathing under control again, but when I did… I sighed. Really? A last, desperate attack? That was so cliché, it hurt. Although, I supposed it made sense. He did have a damn good reason to hate me, now, and he was about to die one way or another. I supposed I'd just assumed he was taken care of the moment he fell into the lava, but with how durable he was, it seemed obvious in hindsight that he'd still have enough spite in him to drive him onwards, at least for a while. Really, I guessed, I should've seen that coming.

But I hadn't, and it had still worked out alright. Mostly because he hadn't even tried to aim anywhere but a specific, tiny spot, really. What had been the plan there? Assume I hadn't moved an inch since he'd last seen me? Just guess and get lucky? Either way, it was stupid. I knew he had other weapons, and I figured there was almost certainly something that could cover a significantly larger area, and actually present a rather significant threat to me even if he was swinging blind. Instead, he'd done an incredibly unimpressive and frankly unthreatening final attack.

And then I glanced over the edge, and realized what was going on.

The handle of the halberd wasn't just a necessary component of the weapon, something to hold it by. Well, it was that, yes – but as I looked down, I suddenly realized that in this particular case, it served another purpose entirely, too. It was a ramp. I'd misjudged his action – he wasn't trying a last, desperate attack to kill me. He was trying to get back up. The fight wasn't as over as I'd thought.

I didn't feel like dealing with that. I grabbed the halberd by what little bit of the handle I could reach from the path and pushed it away. But it wouldn't budge. That wasn't surprising, not really – it looked heavy as all hell, and it was solidly stuck in the path. Still, it couldn't hurt to try.

But what would hurt was exhausting myself before the fight that I knew was about to commence. I let go of the handle, went to the center of the path, and calmed myself. My breathing steadied. I wiped the sweat off my brow with my sleeve, then let my hand rest by my side. My other hand still clutched my knife. I forced myself to relax. Adrenaline could be a good thing in the heat of battle, but a clear mind was important, too. Getting too pumped up would do me no good. I just stood there, breathed very deliberately, and made myself wait, calmly, for Slayer.

"CHARA! DREEMURR!"

The voice made me jump. It carried clearly even all the way from down there, and the echoes from Hotland's terrain made it seem even louder. But it wasn't Slayer's normal voice. It was distorted, twisted… almost tortured. It sounded like something no living being should've been able to produce. That sort of tone would've sounded natural coming from a malfunctioning machine, from something that had long since broken down and was now just barely assembling sounds as best it could. But from Slayer, from a person, from something alive… it was unsettling.

And it was tinged with hate, too. It was dripping with it. I'd never heard anything quite like it before, and it was horrific. That tone told me, more clearly than words ever could've, that he was past caring now. He didn't care what happened to him anymore. He didn't care what happened to the bird, or Gaster, or their plans anymore. He just wanted me dead, and he'd do anything to get that.

"I WILL KILL YOU!" he screamed. There was no edge of cold steel to the voice, no concealed rage boiling beneath a calm veneer, no indomitable dignity shining past the hatred in his mind. All it had was anger – sheer, powerful, murderous anger. It was more than enough.

I stepped to the edge and looked down at Slayer, climbing up the halberd. I'd been correct about one thing, at least. The lava had been too much for even him to take – the vast majority of his armor, and his body, was burned away, its melted remnants dripping down what little of it still remained. But the magic within him, the magic for which the armor was a shell, replaced it. As the armor burned away, the magic had hardened, creating another shell to replace the old one – but it was not the same shell as the old one. The magic inside him hadn't bothered with things like form or organization or shape. Rather, it had formed him into a vaguely humanoid mass of hardened magic, all unevenly spiked and jagged and textured. There was no pattern to it, no method to the madness. The magic had simply coalesced to form a second body for him, and given no heed to what it would look like.

The shape that was somewhat recognizable as Slayer ascended the handle of his halberd, moving in a slow walk. But as he did, he caught sight of me, and whatever little bit of his anger was still restrained broke loose. He sprinted up the halberd, madly dashing towards me. I looked on, my eyes wide. Slayer had never been particularly fast before – but it seemed his impromptu redesign had changed that. He still wasn't all that quick, but he was certainly no longer anywhere near slow, either.

After less time than I would've expected, he made it up the halberd and leapt off it, landing on the rocky pathway. The moment he did, I sliced at him. I knew he could only have one weapon at a time, which meant he was vulnerable as long as the halberd remained – but jumping onto it alongside him would've been too dangerous. But now? I had a chance.

The halberd vanished almost instantly as he came down, but he couldn't conjure something new fast enough. I pressed my weight into the blow, already expecting the resistance that I knew would come – but it didn't. My knife bit through his new shape with contemptuous ease, sailing out through the other side. It seemed his new shell wasn't as durable as the previous one, but…

I hissed. Damn. That meant I'd overextended. I stumbled to a stop and ducked, purely on instinct. A vicious punch sailed over my head, and I leapt back before Slayer could try anything else.

Slayer conjured his dagger once more – it seemed that was the only thing he could use for such close-range combat – and, with a vicious roar, leapt at me. The dagger sailed through the air, and I took a step backwards. Dammit. With his newfound speed, I couldn't find an opening half as easily as before.

But his rage was a detriment to him, too. His next stab was too aggressive. He extended his arm too far, and I took the chance. I twisted to the side, dodging the blade, and slammed my knife into his wrist. He pulled his arm away and growled under his breath.

And in that moment, I realized something. All the difficulty I'd been having with him before, all the trouble he'd caused me… it'd been because of his powers. It'd been because of how durable he was, and how far he could reach with his weaponry. But now? Now, in a fair fight, where he was just another mortal monster, with nothing to rely on but his dagger?

He had no chance. Not against me.

"Hah," I laughed mirthlessly. "Think you know how to use a knife? I've been doing it longer than you. Try me, bastard."

He roared and lunged forward, his dagger cutting a diagonal arc through the air. I ducked under it, stepped to the side, and slashed at his gut, digging a deep furrow through him. I stood up quickly, before he could attack again, and with a flick of my wrist, cut him once more as he was turning towards me.

With a snarl, he sliced at me, stepping into the blow. I almost laughed. It was one of the most predictable attacks I'd ever seen. Hell, he'd even raised the dagger over his shoulder before striking. I took just the barest step away and stabbed at him, poking a hole all the way through his arm. He'd put too much force into the attack, too. His dagger arm sailed past me, and he couldn't get his weapon back to him quickly enough to stop me from doing whatever I liked. I ducked under his arm and slipped towards him, getting close enough that he'd have trouble hitting me. I stabbed diagonally upwards, gouging a hole where his heart should've been.

He stepped back, not quite stupid enough to try and actually fight me at that close a range. With another hellish scream, he lunged at me, dagger arm flung outward, the blade pointed at me. I stepped to the side and twisted my body around, watching the dagger sail past me, and-

Saw my chance.

My first cut wasn't enough to do anything more than just digging yet another canyon in his arm. But once again, he'd overextended, and my second cut finished the job. His arm flew through the air, split from his body, dagger falling uselessly from its now limp hand. A moment later, it faded, the magic it was formed of dispersing to nothing. The dagger lasted a bit longer, but soon, it too disappeared.

Slayer stepped back, staring at the smooth cut in surprise and disbelief. The magic was already rushing in to reconstruct his arm – but it couldn't repair that sort of sudden, massive damage quickly, and every moment it wasted, even more magic simply flew out of him, his very lifeforce seeping out of his body. Desperately, he clutched at where his arm had come off, stemming the flow. But that didn't matter.

I took a step towards him, a hard look on my face.

[Chara,] Frisk said from within my mind. [Stop. You've done enough.]

I ignored them.

"Y-you…" Slayer said, confusion in his voice. "You cannot…"

I sliced at his neck. He stepped back, but not quickly enough. My knife left a deep cut where his throat should've been.

"No," he said, his tone slowly growing apprehensive. "No. Do not do it. Don't."

I took another step forward.

"D-don't," he said, frantically. "Don't. Please."

[Chara, no!] Frisk yelled at me.

"Once more," I said, "for Papyrus."

I sliced at his neck once more, advancing with the blow this time. Again, he stepped away, but my knife found its target. His head toppled to the floor, frozen in panic. A moment later, it too faded. He collapsed to the floor, his remaining arm falling limply from where it had been covering his wound. The magic started trying to repair his head, too – but more and more of it was simply seeping out of his two gaping wounds. The magic within him, his very essence, drained out of him, filling the air around his body with a yellow mist.

Less than a minute later, Slayer faded to nothing.


	29. Reckoning

**AN:**

 **GiratinaBeelzemonblaster369** : Well... technically, it was actually Slayer who killed Papyrus, so...

* * *

[…Why, Chara?] Frisk asked me. They sounded sad. Disappointed. Betrayed. Afraid. Maybe a bit angry.

Whatever.

I didn't care what promises I'd made, and I didn't care what I'd decided before. If someone killed my friend, I wasn't going to just let them go.

Besides, even discounting that, Slayer had to be taken care of, one way or another. He was Par's hitman, after all, and certainly no stranger to murder. If I hadn't done something, he would've killed more and more and more people – and somehow, I doubted I'd be able to talk him into stopping. True, perhaps killing him wasn't the only choice, but it was the only one that actually had a good chance of working. Besides, if I tried to figure out some other way, that just gave him the time to kill even more of the people I cared about.

But all of that, really, was just me lying to myself. Yeah, I supposed my actions were justifiable – but I hadn't killed him for the right reasons. I hadn't killed him to save people. I'd killed him because I wanted revenge for Papyrus. Plain and simple, and probably completely immoral.

Ah well. That just meant I could spit in his face down in hell.

I shrugged. [Papyrus is dead,] I told Frisk. [I'm not letting his killer get away.]

[But…] Frisk said, [you'd won already. He couldn't do anything at that point.]

[Yeah,] I conceded. [But how long would that last? The only reason I even managed to kill him was because his magic couldn't regenerate him fast enough to avoid spilling out. If he managed to get back to Par and get fed some more magic, he could heal pretty damn easily. It'd be like nothing had ever happened.]

Frisk looked to the side. [Yeah,] they muttered. [I guess. But…]

I glanced over at them. They looked anxious, and conflicted, and worried. The anger fled me, and I felt like a bit of an idiot. [Still feels wrong?] I asked.

[Yeah,] they nodded, glumly.

[Mm.]

I started walking. I wasn't entirely sure where I was walking, or why. But I didn't feel like being here anymore.

[Ugh,] Frisk eventually moaned from behind me.

I turned to the side. [Hm?]

[Mm… it's just…] they said, and paused for a moment. [You just killed someone. Like… forever. I just…]

I looked at them. Dammit. I knew Slayer had to go, but to see the effect it had on Frisk… argh. Now I felt like a bastard.

[I…] I said, and then paused. Apologizing wouldn't change anything, not really. Slayer would still be dead, I'd still have killed him, and Frisk wouldn't feel any less awful about it. But… I still had to. [For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry.]

They paused for a moment. […Yeah. Okay.]

We stood like that for a while, neither of us saying anything. Finally, I said [Let's go. And I promise I'll try not to kill anyone else.]

Frisk looked to the side. [Alright.] And on that note, we set out once more, though I still didn't know where I was going. But if I was going to challenge the bird, it seemed logical to take out his support first. Slayer was gone, now – so I just had to take care of Gaster.

I thought back to our conversation in the Core. God, I hated him. At least Slayer – whatever exactly he was – seemed to be every bit as emotionless as that flower (whose preferred name I couldn't remember, though I knew well enough who he really was), judging from his voice. At least he had an excuse. Gaster? Gaster wasn't emotionless or anything, not from what I could tell. And while I'd thought before that he was just serving the bird unwillingly, our conversation had proven that false. So really… it seemed he was just plain evil.

But that was a nebulous term. From his perspective, I could almost see how his actions made sense. Par had been his savior from a fate so horrible I couldn't even imagine it. True, he was evil himself, but to Gaster, that couldn't have mattered at the time. He would just be so unimaginably glad to finally be free of his torment that… I could see him just throwing himself at his savior's feet. Hell, in his situation, I might've just ended up doing the same. And while I hated his seemingly complete lack of empathy, I could understand that, too. After that long of just watching everything and not being able to do a thing about it, I imagined it'd be pretty damn hard to keep caring.

In my mind, I made a decision. Gaster was a bastard, yes, but he wasn't impossible to reason with. If I could help it, if there was any other way at all, I wouldn't kill him. I'd broken my promise once already, but that was no reason to make it a habit. Especially not when I knew what I could still become oh so easily were I to do that.

So, how was I going to get him to stop helping Par? Well, that, I didn't know yet. But I'd figure something out.

[Hey, Frisk,] I said, though I felt a bit bad pestering them while they were still trying to recover from what I'd just done. Although, I supposed that maybe it'd take their mind off of things for a while. [Got any ideas on how we could find Gaster?]

[Uh…] They thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. [No. Sorry.]

[It's okay,] I said. Still, though, that was frustrating. I knew way too little about my enemies, and they would find it way too easy to just avoid me if that was what they wanted to do. Hell, I didn't even have any clue where to start searching – I didn't even know where their hideout was. I didn't even know if they had one.

Though, on how that could be found out, at least, I had an idea. I turned to Frisk. [Oh, and by the way…]

[Yeah, Chara?] they said.

[I've been wondering where these guys have been hiding out,] I said. [I don't really know any place in the Underground that would work for them, but… maybe you do?]

[Um…] they said, and paused in thought.

[It'd have to be secluded,] I said.

[Eh?] they asked.

[You know… hidden,] I clarified. [Where people wouldn't find them.]

[Yeah,] they said. [I guess.]

[So… you know any place like that around here?]

[…No,] they said. But after a few moments, they seemed to have an idea, and they looked to the side. [Well…]

[Mm?] I asked.

[I… maybe,] they said, nervously. [But…]

I arched an eyebrow. [But what?]

[But…] they said, [I… don't really wanna tell you.]

My face fell. I felt like I had a pretty good guess as to why, and if I was right, I didn't really want to pry. But… [It's something private for someone,] I guessed. [Right?]

Frisk looked down, their cheeks red. [Yeah.]

I looked down, too. I didn't want Frisk to feel bad. I didn't want Frisk to feel like I was forcing them to divulge something they didn't want to divulge. But… I sort of had to beat the bird, and that meant I needed to know where he was hiding. [I'm… sorry, Frisk,] I said. [But, please. This is important. You know that.]

[Y-yeah…] they stammered, their voice ashamed. [But…]

[I know,] I said. [I know. But… we need this. The monsters need this.]

Frisk looked up at me, seeming even more mortified. [I… yeah,] they said, trying to be resolute. It wasn't working very well. [Yeah. The monsters need this.]

And honestly, that just made me feel even worse.

[Alright,] they said. [But… uh…]

[Yeah?] I asked them. [I promise I won't tell anyone.]

[Thanks,] they said. [But I was going to say something else.]

[Oh,] I said. [Okay. What is it?]

[U-uh… i-it's kinda silly,] they said, [but… can I whisper it in your ear?]

I blinked at them.

[I-I mean, I know no one can hear me anyways, b-but…] Frisk frantically explained, [i-it just makes me… makes me feel better. You know.]

I shrugged and tried to smile reassuringly at them. [Okay.]

They floated up to me and leaned towards my ear. It felt weird, knowing that they were right there and being able to see them yet not being able to feel them at all. But I was already asking them to do more than I could rightly expect from them. I wasn't going to deny them this.

[I-in Alphys' lab…] they said, [t-there's a door. It's… it's locked, but… behind there…]

My eyes widened in surprise. Alphys? Of all people, her? I mean, I knew she'd already fooled me once, but… I just couldn't see her hiding some dark secret.

[I-it's nothing bad!] Frisk yelped out, as if they'd been reading my thoughts – though, I supposed, they'd probably just noticed my eyes. [W-well… it… it sort of is, but…]

I looked at them. [There's a good explanation?]

They looked to the side again, embarrassed. [Yeah.]

I nodded. [Okay. I'll keep that in mind. And I swear I won't touch anything I don't need to.]

[Okay,] Frisk said, and somewhat hesitantly nodded. And with that, we set off towards Alphys' lab. I could see Frisk's nervousness on the way, and it made me feel terrible. I'd just forced them to tell me something that was clearly dear and important to someone they knew, and the worst part was, I'd almost manipulated them into it. I'd told them it was for the monsters, after all, and while that was true… I'd known that that, more surely than anything, would get them to tell me. And that was why I'd said it.

Dammit. I needed to find this out, and I had to do what I had to do, but… I just wished I didn't have to hurt Frisk so much in the process. Hadn't they already suffered enough at my hands?

The trip to the lab didn't take long – we were already pretty close. Unfortunately, Alphys was there.

"Ah!" she gasped when she saw me, and ducked beneath the table. "U-um… hi…"

"Hey, Alphys," I said. "I'm... sorry for what I said before. I overreacted. Both times."

"U-uh…" she stammered, "okay…"

"I shouldn't have acted like that," I continued. "I shouldn't have threatened you. I shouldn't have yelled at you. And I'm really, really sorry for that."

"Uh…" she muttered, again, and rose from underneath her table. "S-so… you won't…"

"I won't do anything to you," I said. "Please calm down."

"O-oh!" she said. "Th-then why are you here?"

I thought for a moment. But… there was no good way to answer her. I knew that whatever was behind that door, it was dear and precious to her – or at least, its secrecy was. I didn't have any clue what sort of effect it might have on her if I told her I knew. But I sort of had to, didn't I? Frisk had said the door was locked. Even if I got her away from the lab, I wouldn't be able to get in on my own.

I glanced to the side, pointedly avoiding making eye contact with her. Damn it. Why is it that so many of my plans lately were starting to involve hurting others?

"I…" I said, and swallowed nervously. "You know the bird, right? Well, him and his friends?"

"Uh, yeah," she said. "P-Par, right? The one that hates you."

"Uh-huh," I nodded.

Her eyes darted around. "Y-you mean… it's about that? I… I can help with…" Her voice grew somewhat cautiously excited. "…That?"

"Um… yeah," I said. "But… you probably won't like it."

"Uh, no, it's alright!" she said. "If, if I can help you with that… just say the word!"

I swallowed, again. "Okay," I said. My head was starting to hurt, probably from the stress. "I… uh… here's the thing. I don't actually know where he's hiding, not yet. But it'd have to be someplace secluded, where no one ever went.

"And… uh…" I continued, my brief burst of confidence suddenly lost, "you know about Frisk, right? I mean, I told Toriel, so if you were watching me…"

"Um… yeah?" she said, apprehensively.

"Well," I said, "I talked to them about it, and…" I let that hang there for a few moments.

Alphys sat there for an instant, seemingly still unsure of what I was talking about. And then her eyes grew massive, and she froze to the spot, staring blankly ahead.

"Don't worry!" I quickly added, trying to reassure her. "I don't know what's inside. And I won't look around any more than I have to. And I won't tell anyone what I see."

Still she stared at me, unblinking, sweat pouring down her forehead.

"A-and," I hastened to say, "I won't judge you for it, whatever it is. Hell, I'll forget about it the moment I leave. It'll be like I'd never even been there."

"U-uh…" she stammered. "Uh…"

I walked over to her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked in her eyes. I let her see the stress in my face, the worry, the anxiety, the desperation. "Please," I said. "I swear. I'll never mention it again. Ever."

She blinked at me a few times, tears in her eyes. For a few moments, she just trembled, unmoving. Then, her hand shot somewhere, she threw some sort of keycard onto the table, and she stood up and ran off and out of the lab.

I blinked after her a few times. "Well," I said to myself. "That happened."

Then, I took the keycard and stashed it in my pocket. I took a deep breath. No matter how much I didn't really want to, I was about to discover something, and I felt like there was every chance it would be something I didn't want to know. Well… I supposed I'd just have to do as I said I'd do. Go in, get out, forget about whatever I see.

I indicated the one door in the lab that I could see hiding something secret with a wave of my hand. [That one?] I asked Frisk.

[Yeah,] they nodded.

I walked up to the door and inspected its smooth surface. [So, uh… you got any idea how to actually open it?] I asked.

[Um,] Frisk said. [No.]

I sighed. [Do things ever go our way?]

[Nope.]

It took a bit of fiddling around, but I eventually managed to figure out how to get the door unlocked. What was behind it seemed to be some sort of elevator. I looked at the buttons. [Uh, Frisk?]

[Lowest one,] they said, quietly. They seemed apprehensive, which just worried me even more. But I'd made my decision. I pressed the lowest button and the door closed behind me.

The elevator descended for a little while. Frisk paced nervously, seemingly waiting for something. Then, the elevator stopped and its doors slid open. Frisk stopped, and I could see their eyebrows shoot up.

[What's up?] I asked them.

[This… isn't how it normally goes,] they said. [Normally, whenever I went here, the power went out and the elevator crashed.]

[Well, guess we got lucky,] I said. [This isn't exactly a normal run, after all. A few differences are to be expected.]

[Yeah,] Frisk said, [I guess. Can we start searching now? I don't want to be here any longer than we have to.]

[Mm-hmm,] I nodded. [Let's go.]

And with that, I stepped out of the elevator. The doors opened into a long corridor, the walls tinged a dull blue, the floor tiled in the same color. The whole place reeked of neglect and disuse, and the moment I took a sniff of the air, I suddenly wished my nose could just close up or something. It didn't look much better, either – the entire building was covered in dust (mundane dust, thankfully), the paint was peeling from the walls, and cracks spread out sporadically on every surface I could see. I could see a few screens, seemingly untouched by the havoc time had wreaked upon the rest of this place, attached to the walls of the corridor, but they were the only beacon of light in this whole place. It was a far cry from the cheery, bright lab above.

But I promised I wouldn't pry any more than I had to, and that meant not asking any questions, either. Whatever this place may have once been, it didn't matter for my purposes. I just set off down the corridor, looking around for any signs of the bird as I walked. Of course, I didn't expect to see anything so early on, but it was never too early to start searching.

The place seemed, so far, quite similar to many of the Underground's locations in terms of layout – a mass of corridors with a few bigger rooms interspersed. But it wasn't half as cheerful as most of the places in the Underground, and walking through it felt depressing, and even a bit scary, even when I didn't know what exactly had happened here. Thankfully, at the very least, Frisk was right – this place was deserted. I didn't encounter a soul as I passed through.

And then, something appeared.

It looked, at first glance, like the head – just the head – of one of the monsters I'd seen back in Snowdin. But it looked like it was… melting, almost. And there was something else there too, something… attached to it…

And then it moved closer, and… and…

It was so cold.

I shuddered at the sight. I couldn't help myself. It was horrific.

It inched closer. My body wouldn't move. Nothing would move. There was just me and it.

I couldn't beat it. I couldn't do a thing to it. I knew that much.

I couldn't move. I didn't want to move. What would even be the point? It'd all be over soon, anyway.

Why did I ever think I could do this? Go into some ancient, long-forgotten place with some horrible secret? Did I really think I'd come out unscathed?

And if I did find Gaster, what then? I'd only beaten Slayer by luck, and I'd had to break my promise to do it. What was I thinking? Was I really thinking I could be a hero?

It was almost funny, now that I thought about it. Me, a hero. I was the one who'd killed everyone. I was the one who'd forced them all to suffer time and time again. And now I wanted to be a hero?

I should've just left it to Frisk. Frisk was kind. Frisk was good. Frisk was so much better than I was. And they were more determined, too. They would've found some way around this. They wouldn't have just stood there, frozen, at the sight of this thing.

They shouted something. I might've vaguely heard it, but I couldn't make any of the words out. I was starting to forget what words even were.

The thing moved a bit closer. I shuddered, but not from fear anymore. There was no point feeling fear when there was nothing that could be done anyway.

I just shuddered because it was so. Cold.

My eyelids drooped, my vision blurred, and I let the chill consume me.

…

Something I could barely make out happened, and the thing flew away from me.

The world snapped back to focus suddenly, a million thoughts suddenly rushing through my head as if they'd been held back by some dam that was now broken. What was I thinking?! When the hell had I ever given up before?! And so easily… what the hell was that thing?!

[-ara?!] Frisk shouted, the sound suddenly loud and crisp once more. [What's happening?!]

[I'm fine,] I said. [It… did something to my mind. I think.]

But that still left the question of why it'd just flown away from me. I narrowed my eyes in the direction it'd gone. There was nothing there that I could immediately see, but I looked anyway, and I looked carefully. I had to watch out, clearly. This place wasn't safe.

The thing itself seemed to be pinned to the wall of the corridor by some unseen force. It looked… confused, though it was hard to tell on its excuse for a face. But it wasn't struggling, and it didn't look scared. It just seemed… resigned, almost.

There were two people I knew who could pin something to the wall like that. And I was pretty sure I'd only find one of them here.

My hand went into my pocket, closing around my knife – just in case – as Gaster stepped out from the shadows. With a gesture from his hand, the thing flew down the corridor, disappearing into the shadows.

"I see you found our base," he said. "Are you happy with yourself?"

"What the h-" _ell was that thing?!_ was what I was about to ask. But I figured it was probably connected to this place, not to Par and Gaster, so it wouldn't be right to pry. Even though I was curious. "Never mind. Why'd you save me?"

Gaster shrugged. "I suppose it seemed like the correct thing to do. I cannot deny that you have made some effort to treat me with kindness, and though you continue to oppose us, I suppose I still feel a certain amount of respect towards you for that. I could not let you die like that."

He looked me in the eyes, and his face was hard, cold. But not the peaceful, lethargy-inducing cold that that… thing… had used. The frost in Gaster's eyes was a bitter, merciless thing, the sort that stirred up the deadly winds of winter and threw snowstorms and sleet against the walls of civilization. "But make no mistake," he calmly said. "Should you continue to interfere, I will not hesitate to kill you."

I glanced towards the direction where he'd sent the thing. "Current evidence suggests otherwise."

Gaster narrowed his eyes at me, and I suddenly regretted saying that. "As I have said, I could not let you die like that. Were the means of your potential death less ignoble, or if I had not happened to be passing by anyway, I would not have done the same."

I didn't find that very convincing. I, myself, had spent a while lying to myself and telling myself that I didn't really care about others, and what Gaster was doing seemed damn similar. But I didn't press. Something told me that would be a terrible idea. "Alright," I said.

"Leave," Gaster said, in a tone which left no room for debate. "Now."

"No," I said.

Gaster sighed deeply. "You came here to find me and Par, did you not?"

I had a bad feeling about where this was leading, but I answered anyway. "Yeah, I did."

"Then it strikes me as foolish," he said, "to forget about the fact that I could simply teleport us both away the moment I wished to do so. Or were you expecting my magic to stay drained forever?"

Oh.

Now that he said it, I realized I had, actually, forgotten about that. There wasn't a thing keeping him from just taking Par and leaving. And I couldn't exactly stop him from doing so, either.

"Oh," I said, "right."

"Leave."

"Hold on!" I said. "It isn't like I could hurt either of you anyway, so… could you just answer a few questions for me? I'm just curious about a few things."

If I knew anything about Gaster, he wouldn't be able to resist the chance to educate someone he saw as less intelligent than himself.

A few moments passed, and even with how sure I was this would work, I still started getting tense. But finally, Gaster sighed and said, "As before, that depends on what you want to know."

Well, I'd managed to stall for a while, at least. Now I just had to think of some questions. I thought back to everything I knew about the bird and his friends, and more importantly, to what I didn't know. I thought of all the little unanswered questions, of all the mysteries surrounding him.

One in particular stuck out, because Frisk had mentioned it a while ago. They'd said, I recalled, that I shouldn't be asking how he could block my resets – I should be asking how he knew about them in the first place. From there, they reasoned, it would probably be a lot easier to figure out how he could stop them. They were probably right. And now, I had someone right in front of me who could tell me how the bird knew – assuming, of course, I could get him to.

"Alright," I said. "Let's start with this: How does Par know about my resets?"

He turned his nose up at me. (Well, he didn't have a nose. But that was basically what he did.) "You expect me to tell you that?"

"Uh… sure," I said. "I mean, how would that information help me?" Quite a lot, of course. But he didn't need to know that.

Of course, any smart person wouldn't have told me anyways, just in case. And I'd bet that was what Gaster knew, deep inside, was the right thing to do. But I was counting on the fact that I'd always known him to be an arrogant bastard – a person who could never resist an opportunity to show off how much smarter than everyone else he was. I was just hoping that desire was strong enough to override his better judgement.

"…I suppose you have a point," he said, grudgingly. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but… here's an analogy. Think of your resets as something like a broom – used to sweep everything in the world back to the way they were a while ago. But a broom can miss certain things, especially if they're small enough – and the shards of my soul still flying around the Underground are certainly small enough. So, when you metaphorically sweep everything under the rug, the shards of my soul are unaffected, and retain the memory of the previous timeline. And since they are still part of me, I have all the memories they have."

"Huh," I said, raising an eyebrow. "So, Par doesn't actually remember the resets? It's just you?"

"Not quite," he said. "There is, at present, a small shard of my soul attached to Par's."

"I thought monsters couldn't absorb each other's souls," I interjected.

"They cannot," Gaster said, annoyed. "But there is no absorption happening in this case. That single piece of my soul merely, effectively, hangs on to Par's – and through it, I can, if I so choose, share my thoughts and memories with him. Normally, the effort is quite taxing, particularly to the mind – directly influencing the memories within someone else's mind is no small thing, and not the sort of thing any living being's mind was intended for – and so I take care not to overuse it. But since his memories from the timelines before are still in existence, and merely dormant, reawakening them is much easier. Hence why he can recall all of your resets every bit as easily as I can."

"Huh," I said. "That's interesting." And then, I went to the logical conclusion. "So, you're the one blocking my resets, too?"

A shadow passed across Gaster's face, and his expression twisted in frustration. "It seems I have told you too much," he said.

I grinned. "I'll take that as a yes. And it's got something to do with the pieces of your soul everywhere, right?"

Gaster hissed. That was all the confirmation I needed.

"Good to know," I said.

"Enough!" he shouted. "Have you come here just to pry all you can from me? I had thought you were here for vengeance, or justice – whichever of those you wish to call it. Are you going to leave without that, you coward?!"

"Well, you said it yourself," I said, smiling. "You can just take both yourself and the bird out of here whenever you feel like it."

"True," he growled through clenched teeth. "But…"

And that was when I knew I'd won. At least, I'd won the first half of the fight.

Thanks to what I'd just done, Gaster was really, really angry at me now. Before, I knew he'd be content to just sit back and let me meet my end when Par decided I should – but now? Now, he'd want to kill me. And he'd want to kill me himself.

"I will give you one last chance to walk away," he said, clearly forcing his voice to remain calm. "But if you wish to throw your life away, meet me near the entrance to the Ruins, one hour from now."

"I'll be there."


	30. Blood Price

I kept my promise.

Gaster stood with his back to me, the edges of his jacket swaying slightly with the wind. He'd arrived before I had, and hadn't given the slightest indication he knew I was there. But I knew he knew anyway.

Unconsciously, I went for my knife, but I stopped myself. I wasn't here to kill him. I was here to get him out of the bird's thrall, to convince him to accept my help and abandon his cruel master. I swallowed nervously at that thought. Gaster had always been a stubborn one, and I certainly didn't look forward to the task ahead of me. But I had to try my best. And if I couldn't do it… well…

For just a moment, I let my hand rest on my knife's grip. But I hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Hello, Gaster," I said, trying to keep the apprehension out of my voice. He didn't say anything. He didn't even react. He just stood there, as if he hadn't even heard me.

I waited, too. I felt the chill of Snowdin against my skin, felt the low wind caress my face. It was a pleasant sensation. Here, the cold wasn't the sort that bit at you and chilled you to the very bone, and the wind wasn't the sort that stole away your breath and made every step a battle against the elements. It was a gentler sort of weather – where the cold was just enough to keep you focused and sharpen your mind, and the wind was a gentle, almost reassuring touch. It calmed me down a bit, and took the edge off of my thoughts.

Still, I was tense. It'd be foolish not to be. We were both just standing there at the moment, true, but… something was going to happen soon. I could tell.

Without warning, Gaster flung his arm to one side, and one of his blasters, pinpricks of red light in its eye sockets, appeared just behind him, staring right at me.

I didn't even fully realize what was happening before my instincts kicked in. I flung myself to the side, and the blaster's deadly beam just barely missed me. I could feel its heat on my body, I was that close.

And that was when my rational mind caught up to my instincts. This wasn't the same as one of Sans' blasters – this was one of Gaster's, and those were different. I'd seen what they did, back when I was fighting the entire trio. They turned, and they chased their target.

I didn't give this one the chance. I turned to the side and ran, hearing the buzz of its beam coming towards me as I went. Somewhere to the side, wood crackled and burned as the blaster turned and incinerated the trees. That sound made me run faster. If it did that to trees, I felt like I really didn't want to find out what it'd do to me.

Gaster turned towards me and moved his hand once more, and I felt something change in my soul. Suddenly, I was dragged backwards by some invisible force, a force so absolute that resisting it was simply unthinkable. But I knew how to deal with that. As I was forced back, I kicked off the ground, sailing over the blaster's beam. It tried to adjust and turn upwards to meet me, but it wasn't fast enough, and all I had to do was pull my legs up to make sure I didn't get hit.

That last attack done, the blaster simply vanished. I knew how fights against monsters tended to work well enough to know what that meant – he was doing something else. I twisted around, looking behind me, and saw an enormous wall of bones rising from the earth. My current course was leading me right towards them, and I didn't have anything else handy to push off from and avoid them.

But I didn't need to dodge them. I drew my knife from my pocket, raised it over my head, leaned forward as far as I could, and thrust it into the bones. They were made of magic, and were intended as an attack rather than a defense, and so the knife sunk into them easily. It stuck, and made sure that as long as I didn't let go, Gaster's spell wouldn't carry me any further. Thankfully, not letting go wasn't an issue – Gaster's own magic was practically pushing my hands into the handle, and even if I somehow lost my grip anyways, my forehead would just slam against the knife and stop me from going forward just as well.

Well, this was my chance. "Listen to me, Gaster!" I shouted. "Par's evil! He's just going to keep making you kill and kill and kill! Don't you see that?!" Which was, frankly, a stupid thing to say. Of course Gaster knew. He wasn't that stupid. But in the heat of the moment, I hadn't exactly managed to think of anything better.

"Obviously, I see that," he said. "But it changes nothing."

The spell on my soul disappeared, and normal gravity reasserted itself, pulling me down once more. Thanks to the sudden change, I nearly let go of the knife, but knowing Gaster, that was exactly what he was hoping for. I hung on and looked down. Beneath me, there was a field of bones, ready to skewer me the moment I fell. For a moment, I contemplated how I'd get out of this situation – and then, I heard a distinctive noise somewhere above me, and turned to look up. Another of Gaster's blasters had appeared, this one staring diagonally downwards at me.

All of a sudden, I only had a moment or two to make a decision, and my mind started racing. I realized that I could probably swing off my knife and use the momentum to send myself far enough forward to avoid the forest of bones below. It'd almost certainly work – I'd done crazier things before – and even if it didn't, falling into the bones would still probably be more survivable than being incinerated by this thing.

But that plan had one issue. If I did that, I'd be leaving my knife behind. It'd get hit with the full force of the blaster's beam, and somehow, I doubted it'd be intact after that.

And I liked my knife.

I pulled down on the handle, yanking the whole knife down as far as I was able – and away from the bone, too. Just before the blaster fired, the blade came out, and I was sent plummeting down into the deadly bones below. But I was ready. I twisted around in midair so that I was falling headfirst, and slammed my knife downwards. It stuck in one of the bones coming out of the floor, and I used it as a pivot, sending my legs forward as far as I could. I pulled the knife out of the bone, using the momentum to launch myself forward, and flipped myself in midair, making sure that I'd land on my legs. As my feet swung through the air, they grazed the edge of the blaster's beam, and I suppressed a grunt of pain as it burned through the sole of my shoe and left a mark on my foot. I hadn't managed to send myself quite far enough forward, either, and one of the bones traced a path along my back as I came down onto the snowy path, leaving a shallow wound that nevertheless stung noticeably.

But I'd come close enough, and I landed ahead of the field of bones, my knife still in hand. I grinned and gave Gaster a little mocking bow. I didn't care what anyone thought – what I'd just done was pretty damn awesome.

Gaster stared at me blankly for a moment, as if in disbelief that I chose to try something so risky. I turned to the side and found Frisk staring down at me with much the same expression of shock. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Gaster. For a second or two, we all stood there, frozen in place.

And then Gaster made his next move. With a restrained gesture of his hand, a torrent of bones flew at me, tearing through the air. I glanced nervously behind me, but the entire setup from before was gone. It was just me and the quite frankly ridiculous amount of bones flying through the air.

I set my face into a resolute expression. I couldn't deny it, I was a bit nervous – but this was the sort of thing I'd dealt with before many, many times. I wouldn't let it get the better of me this time.

I stepped to the side, dodging the first bone, then leapt over another and rolled as I hit the ground, avoiding the next. I twisted my body as I came up, narrowly dodging the next, and struck another one with the flat of my knife, knocking it to the side. Thankfully, I knew from my experience fighting Sans that trying to hit them with the actual blade would be a bad idea – it'd just cut them in half, and the halves would still be flying at me.

I crouched down, letting the next bone sail over my head, and rolled away from another. I struck a bone with my knife once more, sending it to the side just before it skewered my head. I leapt backwards and to the side, dodging one more bone – and then, behind the volley coming at me, I saw a blaster appear.

I looked around quickly, found a relatively safe way to go, and dived. The blaster fired behind me, and I felt the heat of the beam on my back as I scrambled to my feet. I knew it'd track me, so I ran, jumping and ducking and sidestepping to avoid bones as I went. I turned my head to look at the blaster, frustrated. I thought I could probably keep this up for a while, but… I wasn't certain. And when it was succeed or die, that just wasn't good enough. I needed to ease up the pressure on myself one way or another.

I dashed forwards, toward the blaster. Gaster looked at me, bemused. I understood why – it seemed like a pretty suicidal maneuver to try, at first glance. But I had an idea. I leapt over a few more bones, thankfully avoiding any injuries despite my recklessness, and turned slightly to the side as I went to avoid the blaster's beam.

It didn't take too long before I found myself at the blaster's side, and before it could turn towards me and incinerate me, I took my knife and sliced at it. The magic parted beneath the cold steel as easily as air, and the two halves of the blaster fell to the ground, useless. They faded quickly, and I noticed that the torrent of bones had stopped, too. I turned to find a surprised look in Gaster's eyes.

I turned to him, lowering my knife. "Look," I gasped, trying to get my breathing under control. "I know Par saved you. I know you're grateful to him. But does that really justify killing people for him?"

"All the killings were carried out by Slayer," Gaster pointed out.

"Yeah," I said. "True. Technically. But you're the one who stopped me from going back, and don't try to deny it. You're just as guilty as he is."

He considered it for a moment, his eyes narrowed. "Very well," he said. "You are correct. I am the one preventing you from returning to change the past. And perhaps I am, as you say, as guilty as Slayer is for doing so. But none of that changes anything."

I hissed. "But you can't honestly say your actions are justified!" I yelled. "Do you really think all their lives-"

I wasn't sure what it was, but something – some sort of minute change in Gaster's expression – warned me that something was wrong. [Chara, behind you!] Frisk shouted just as I came to that realization, confirming my fears. Without even bothering to look around, I twisted my body to the side, and a moment later, a bone flew past me. My eyes grew wide, and I sighed in relief. If I'd been one moment slower, I would've just died. Just like that.

And then something bit into my foot, and I gasped and fell to the snowy ground. I twisted my head around and saw a bone, piercing right through my ankle. I tried to climb back to my feet, already preparing myself for the sort of pain I'd feel when I tried to put my weight on my injured foot – but before I could, a force slammed me to the ground as my soul turned blue.

I looked up at Gaster. "Enough," he said, coldly. "This ends now."

A bone, blue as the water in a clear sea, erupted from my chest, and I suddenly went very, very still.

I couldn't move. The bone wouldn't hurt me as long as I stayed still – but the moment I so much as twitched, it'd turn solid, and tear my insides to shreds. I stilled my breathing. When Sans and Papyrus had used them, they weren't too aggressive, and would only activate if I made any big movements. But when it was Gaster using them, I wasn't willing to bet on even the tiniest little motion being safe.

And then a blaster appeared above me, staring down at me with those hateful red eyes.

Dammit. I had to dodge the beam – I knew I had to dodge the beam – but I couldn't move. Whatever I did, it'd just make the blue bone activate and tear my heart to shreds. I had to dodge, but somehow, I had to dodge without moving a centimeter.

And then an idea came to me. I couldn't move, yes… but that was only true for the parts of my body the bone was touching.

Carefully, without moving my torso the tiniest bit, I reached up towards the bone with my left hand. I grabbed it, and the moment I did, I felt its edges, somehow sharp despite being rounded, bite into my hand. I stifled a grunt of pain and pulled, making sure the rest of my body didn't move a centimeter. Thankfully, as long as I didn't move, my body effectively didn't exist as far as the bone was concerned. Pulling it out of myself was as simple as moving it through thin air would be.

Instinctively, I wanted to drop the bone the moment it was safe, just to stop the pain in my hand. But I was used to pain, and I quieted my instincts and held on to the bone. And the moment the blaster started to open its mouth, I threw it upwards, rolling to the side the moment it left my hand. A spike of pain shot through my wounded hand as it touched the ground, but I was no stranger to that feeling, and I didn't react.

I looked up. The bone had struck the blaster as its mouth was moving, and impaled itself into the roof of its mouth. From the momentum, the blaster had been shoved upwards, and was now firing its beam wildly at the cavern ceiling, every little movement it made prompting the bone to shove it upwards once more.

Another blaster appeared by my side, staring right at me with its hellish red eyes. It was positioned so I couldn't just dodge it by rolling to the side, which was just about the only movement I could make quickly and easily from my current position. But I didn't need to dodge it. I still had my knife in my unwounded hand, and I sliced at the blaster, cutting it in half before it could shoot.

Yet another blaster appeared, this time to my other side – and significantly farther away. I couldn't reach it with my knife, but I couldn't dodge in time, either. On instinct, I threw my knife at it. It struck with the handle, and the blaster was merely pushed to the side instead of being destroyed, but its initial beam missed me.

I gritted my teeth. I knew it was coming for me. Gaster was hoping for his spell to keep me grounded until it got me, and while I knew it wasn't impossible to stand under such a spell's influence, doing so with a wounded leg would be damn close to it. But… I had to.

For a moment, I gathered my will, my determination. I reminded myself of who I was, of what I was. I told myself that this would hurt like hell, and I told myself, too, that that didn't matter. I'd been through a hundred agonies over my many resets. I could take one more. After all, I was the soul of determination.

I rolled over and pushed myself up. My injured hand screamed as I tried to use it to push off the ground, but I ignored it. I stood, and put my weight on my feet. The moment I did, a scream tore itself from my throat, though I'd been specifically trying not to make a sound. I couldn't help it. My leg was in so much pain, in such sheer agony that I couldn't even describe it – no comparison could be accurate. The additional gravity from Gaster's spell made it all the worse, and in addition to the nigh-endless pain running through my leg, it felt like something was pressing down on it, almost crushing it. It felt like my leg was being squashed into its own little black hole of sheer torment, and for a few moments, I couldn't think of anything but the blinding, white-hot pain ravaging through me. It was as if the world was reduced to a single point, and that one point hurt.

But though my breathing was quick and uneven, and I could scarcely even imagine how it'd feel to try and actually walk like this, I knew I couldn't just let the beam hit me, either. By sheer, stubborn force of will and determination, I forced myself to break into a sprint as the beam started to chase me. The moment my wounded foot hit the ground, my entire body screamed with indescribable torment, and anyone with half a brain could've realized that my leg was about to go out from under me. But I knew I couldn't fall, I knew I'd be dead if I fell, and so I didn't. Each time my foot hit the ground, I gasped out a pained breath, too hurt to even scream. But I kept running.

Slowly, the pain started to fade into the background. It still hurt like all hell, but it became a duller sort of pain, the sort that I could bear and still function normally. I managed to gather some presence of mind and realized that I needed to get to the blaster. I turned to the side and ran towards it. Fortunately, it was close enough that I didn't have a long way to go, and I bent down to pick up my knife and sliced at the blaster. It fell into two pieces, and I stood there, panting. The pain in my leg was more manageable now, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. My instincts screamed at me that I should just stop, that I couldn't afford to damage my body any more than it was damaged already. I told them to shut up.

I looked down at the bone, still protruding from my leg. Then I looked at my left hand. It was already cut up like hell… so I figured it wouldn't be too awful to hurt it some more. I reached down and grabbed at the bone. It cut into the wounds that were already there, and I squealed in pain, but I held on and started dragging it out. Unlike the blue bone from before, this one was actually stuck inside me, and as I tried to pull it out, wave upon wave of fresh, fiery agony fell upon me. I ignored it as best I could and focused entirely on the bone. By the time I was done, I was starting to feel tears prickling at the corners of my eyes, but I'd gotten the bone out. I threw it to the ground, and it dissipated.

The pain receded a bit. Not much, but anything helped. I turned towards Gaster. He had a completely baffled expression on his face, like he couldn't even believe what I'd just done. Which made sense. I couldn't believe it either, honestly.

I couldn't afford to be fighting him much longer. I didn't know how long my determination would keep me afloat, but if I kept getting hit, it'd eventually stop being able to keep up. And after what had just happened, I didn't trust myself to not get hit anymore. Not against him.

I took a shot in the dark. "Hey, Gaster," I gasped, "when you killed Papyrus… did you feel anything? Anything at all?"

Gaster said, a little too quickly and too harshly, "I did not kill him." And that was when I knew my guess was right.

"Sure," I said, still panting. "But you might as well have. So, tell me. Did you feel a thing?"

He said nothing, but looked at me with a murderous glare. I continued, "I know he wasn't just another monster to you. I don't know what the connection is, exactly, but one way or another, you're related."

Still Gaster said nothing. But his breathing grew a little quicker, and he hissed at me from between clenched teeth. I glanced to the side to find Frisk staring at me with a curious expression. [They're both skeletons,] I explained. [And I've never met two monsters of the same type who weren't related in one way or another.]

[Oh,] Frisk said. [Yeah. That makes sense.]

I turned back towards Gaster. "You did feel something, didn't you?" I asked. "You didn't want to kill him. You felt guilty about it. You knew it was wrong. But you don't want to admit it, because you don't want anything to make you question your loyalty to the bird."

That last part set him off. With a grunt of anger, he thrust his hand at me, and a wall of bones grew out of the ground and started coming towards me. Before leaping to the side as my instincts told me to, I made sure to look around, and found two blasters behind me positioned to fire beams just to either side of the wall. I turned and ran towards them, away from the wall, ignoring the white-hot flashes of pain that still came to me whenever I tried to put my weight on my injured foot. The blasters fired when I was already near them, and I kept running, even going past them. I looked back. The wall was moving faster than I could run, especially in this state – but the blasters were already turning to track me, and the wall was right in their way. The two beams incinerated the bones, and a few seconds later, the blasters turned towards each other. Each beam incinerated the other blaster, and their useless remains fell to the floor.

Suddenly, something gripped at my soul, and I was sent flying off to the side. I twisted around, managing to land with my feet on a tree – which sent another sudden spike of pain through me – but I felt a sudden sensation beneath me and leapt off it. As I flew further into the forest, propelled by Gaster's magic, I saw several bones spring out of the tree I was just on, in the exact position they'd need to be to skewer me.

I landed on another tree, but next to its trunk, a blaster appeared, staring upwards so that its beam would be parallel to the tree. I ran down the tree – thankfully, Gaster's magic also allowed me to run on vertical surfaces with no more difficulty than I would've otherwise had on the ground – and sliced the blaster in half with my knife, but the moment I did, Gaster's spell faded and gravity reasserted itself. Just before the blaster's remains faded into nothingness, I fell onto them, the inhuman skull's jagged teeth cutting into me. But next to the sheer agony from my leg, that pain was barely even a blip on the radar. I scrambled to my feet, and as I did, Gaster teleported in front of me.

I had a sudden flashback to my first fight with Slayer, and anxiously looked down at the snow. Thankfully, while it was thicker here than back on the path, it wasn't thick enough to restrict my movement all too seriously. I felt something underneath my feet and hopped to the side, just as several bones popped out of the patch of earth where I'd just been standing. Before I could do anything else, Gaster made a gesture with his hand, and a few bones went flying at me. I rolled out of the way, but Gaster just attacked again, sending another small wave of bones towards me. I ducked away from them, and prepared for his next move.

[Chara, behind you!] Frisk shouted, and I turned my head to the side just in time to see a bone flying towards me from behind. I twisted my body to the side, but not quite fast enough, and while I escaped being skewered, the bone still cut a line of red across my chest. I looked around nervously, suddenly remembering that Gaster, of all people, would definitely be the type to do sneaky things like that. Another bone was flying at me from the side, at my already wounded leg, and the thought of something hitting that again brought a grimace to my face. I frantically moved my leg to the side, dodging the bone, and then I heard a sound above me. I looked up to find a blaster staring down at me, and I dived to the side and threw my knife at it. But before I could even see where the knife hit, another bone appeared above me, ready to come down and pierce my heart. I rolled away, but even so, it grazed my arm, giving me another minor wound on top of everything else.

I glanced at where I knew Gaster had summoned the blaster and found it still there, the knife having missed its mark, or perhaps just struck with the hilt. I scrambled to my feet and ran to where my knife had landed in the snow, but almost as soon as I started moving, the blaster fired. At first, I kept ahead of the beam, but Gaster summoned a wall of bones in front of me. I stumbled to a stop, and then turned to the side, running around it. But by the time I came to the edge of the wall, the beam was about to catch up to me. I threw myself forwards, narrowly clearing the wall and managing to get away from the beam, and rolled as I landed, getting myself back to my feet quickly. I continued sprinting towards my knife, but I kept an eye out for anything happening around myself, too. That was fortunate – I noticed a bone sweeping towards my legs from the side, and jumped as it came near me, letting it fly under my feet.

As I got close to the knife, I felt a strange sensation underneath one of my feet. I reacted completely on instinct, pulling my foot back just before a bone sprung up from underneath the snow. I ran around it, leaned down, and picked up my knife. It was tempting to just throw it at the blaster, but I couldn't take that risk again. I started running once more – not directly towards the blaster, of course, because that would just put me in the path of its beam. Instead, I decided, I'd run in a circle and close in on the blaster as I went.

I started running, the blaster's beam never far behind. A wall of bones appeared from the ground and shot towards me. It was too wide to sidestep, but not quite too tall to jump, so I timed its approach and leapt when it was at the correct distance. I managed to get over it, but as I came down, another bone came directly at me. I couldn't dodge it, not while I was in the air, so I smacked it away with the flat of my knife and kept running.

Soon, I was near the blaster, but before I could slice, a wall of bones appeared in front of me. But it wasn't like the one Gaster had used before. It was diagonal – designed to herd me into the blaster's beam. I glanced behind me, trying to see if I could run backwards and avoid it that way, but near the end, the wall curved out into a straight one. It didn't go on for that long afterwards, but it was enough. If I tried to run that way, I wouldn't have the time to get out of the way before the blaster got me.

I gritted my teeth and sliced through the wall. The bones I'd hit fell in half, and a moment later, the entire wall faded. I stepped to the side, just in time to avoid the beam, and struck once more. The blaster fell in half, and its pieces faded away.

I stood there for a moment, my hand over my pounding heart, trying to get my breath. Damn it. Gaster really wasn't pulling any punches.

[Chara!] Frisk yelled frantically, but I was distracted by my triumph over the blaster, and I didn't react fast enough. A bone slammed into my right shoulder, and pain shot through me once more. I wanted to scream, but I stopped myself, barely.

I turned around just in time to see Gaster make a hand gesture, and I was sent flying backwards. Thanks to the shock and the pain, and simply because the nearest tree wasn't that far enough away, I couldn't manage to twist myself around in time, and it was my back that hit the tree's trunk. The moment I did, the spell disappeared, but the bone in my shoulder impaled itself into the tree, making sure that I was stuck there. I heard a crackling noise, and noticed that just a few centimeters away from where I was pinned, the wood was burning – the blaster's work, I imagined. Damn it. I licked my lips nervously.

And then something happened, and for a moment, the pain was so great I didn't even realize what was going on. I screamed, but managed to twist my head around to see what was happening. The bone in my shoulder was tilted – it had rotated itself while still stuck in me.

I looked back at Gaster, apprehension rising in me. He gestured with a hand, and the bone twitched once again, rotating a bit further. Once more, I cried out in agony. And then it started moving in earnest, and suddenly I could do nothing but scream, and-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

The world exploded into white-hot pain, and for a few moments, there was nothing else. It took a moment for me to even realize that wild screech just now had come from me. [Chara!] Frisk yelled, but I hardly heard them.

I fell limply to the ground, still screaming, and looked to the right. I could barely see past the pain, but I still realized what had happened. My arm was… gone, my shoulder replaced with a bloody mess of gore. I looked around, and dimly, I saw my arm, separated from my body, lying next to the burning tree. My knife lay next to it, my hand having gone limp and dropped it. It felt… weird, to just see my own arm lying there like that.

And then I looked up at Gaster, and I gritted my teeth. I bit my tongue, forcing myself to stop screaming. My eyes were full of tears, and no matter how I tried, I couldn't help but let out a pained sob every few seconds. But that didn't matter. I was here for a reason, damn it. I was going to do it.

Determination coursed through me, forcing me to keep going.

I shoved the pain and the agony to the back of my mind. I couldn't stop the effects it was having on my body – I couldn't stop myself from sobbing, and I couldn't stop myself from crying – but that didn't matter. I just had to not pay attention to that, either.

I pushed myself to my feet, using my left hand. The pain from its many wounds coming in contact with the ground registered in my mind, but next to what I was already feeling, it was nothing. I managed to get myself upright and looked at Gaster, tears blurring my vision. It felt… almost dreamlike. The pain was there, and I knew it was there, but it didn't matter to me, not at the moment. It was something distant, far away, and I didn't care about it.

Gaster stared at me, disbelieving. "Stop," he said, sounding genuinely worried.

"No," I said, between sobs. I knew how pathetic I must've looked at that moment, but… there was nothing to do about it.

"Why?" he asked. "Walk away. I will not pursue you. Leave. Even you must realize you cannot do anything in this state."

"Doesn't matter," I gasped. "Won't let you kill my friends."

Gaster looked at me, and I could swear I saw actual concern in his eyes. But he raised his arm, if a bit hesitantly, and a blaster appeared in front of me. I dived to the side, dodging the initial beam, and tried to push myself up again.

But… I couldn't. In my mind, I felt like I could - the determination coursing through me stopped me from feeling exhausted. But my body was just done. With the pain and how much I'd endured and how much I'd done… there was nothing left in me anymore. I couldn't get myself back to my feet, not again. I didn't want to accept that. I willed myself to rise, to dodge, to do anything. But I'd reached the point where even my determination couldn't overcome the simple fact that my body was spent.

I looked at the blaster as it slowly turned towards me. I knew I'd die if it hit anything critical. So, I couldn't let it do that. It seemed impossible, but... I had to do it. It was as simple as that.

As the blaster turned towards me – towards my head – I lifted my remaining hand and held it out towards its hungry maw.

The beam hit my palm, and I screamed once more. Fire seemed to be tearing through my hand, an endless burning pain that sent my nerves into overdrive. But I held my hand up, and though it charred and burned and turned to something that could barely be recognized as a part of a human, it kept my head safe.

The blaster faded, and my hand dropped, limply, to the ground. Gaster stared at me.

"Look," I said. Talking was about the only thing I could do at this point. "I know you're not heartless. I know you've still got feelings. If you didn't, you wouldn't have reacted like that when I asked about Papyrus.

"You didn't want to kill him," I said. "I know you didn't. And who's Par going to send you after next? Will he tell you to kill Asgore for him? Toriel? I don't know who else you care about, but… they're not going to be safe. You've got to understand that."

Gaster said nothing, though I could see an anxious look on his face. He just thrust his hand forward, and a blaster appeared, staring at me.

I looked at it, resigned. Well, this was it. I couldn't dodge, couldn't even move. I'd messed up, and… there was nothing I could do about it now.

Or maybe there was.

He had feelings. He had emotions. He wasn't a heartless murderer. And maybe, just maybe, I could use that.

I didn't try to dodge. I didn't try to do anything. I just looked at Gaster, even that little movement weak, feeble. "Okay," I said, quietly. "Just end it quickly."

Gaster looked down at me, at my broken, battered wreck of a body, his breathing quickening. He blinked a few times, and looked away, as if he couldn't even look at what he was doing. That was a good sign, but…

The blaster opened its mouth.

For a few moments, it simply floated there. Not firing. Not doing anything. And then it faded.

"Thank you," I almost whispered.

Gaster looked back at me. He looked… nervous. Almost vulnerable. I'd never seen him like that before.

"You couldn't. Could you?"

He blinked, and turned his head downwards to look at me.

"Please," I said. "If Par gets his way… no one will be safe. No one."

"You…" he said, "you would have me reject him? After what he has done for me?"

"I'm sorry," I said. "I… don't really know how hard this is for you. But, please. You've got to do it." I lifted my hand, just a tiny bit, reaching out towards him. "You can save all of monsterkind."

He looked to the side. Like he was considering it. "And you think they would thank me?" he asked. "After all I've done?"

I thought for a moment. "Gaster," I said, "anyone can be forgiven."

I smiled. "I know that better than anyone."

Gaster hesitated. "I cannot. You know I cannot just abandon him," he said.

"Then kill me," I said.

He looked down at me. I could see sadness in his eyes. And, though I hated to admit it, pity. "Just… like this?" he quietly asked.

"This is what Par does," I told him. "This is what he will do, over and over again."

That got through to him. I could see the change in his face, the sudden dawning horror. For a moment, I saw him realize what, exactly, I meant. I saw him realize exactly what it meant when Par had someone killed. I saw him realize the true meaning of death.

Just as I had, not too long ago.

He said nothing. And I said "Do it. Do it, or abandon this madness. You know Par wouldn't forgive you if you had this chance and you returned to him having passed it up."

Gaster stared down at me. And I could see something new in his face.

Then, he nodded, almost imperceptibly, and said "I see." And he crouched down and touched a single finger to the bloodstained snow. He looked at it, and I could feel something changing. For an instant, a light shone from him – no, it was going towards him – and he staggered, and then he stood once more and turned towards me.

I felt it instantly. Something over my soul, something that I hadn't even realized was there but was gripping it as tightly as a vise, vanished. And a palpable feeling of sheer, simple relief overcame me.

I had my power back.

"I will apologize for nothing," Gaster told me. "But… I suppose you have won, Chara." And with that, he vanished.

I smiled.

[Frisk,] I said, my voice full of simple happiness, [we did it.]

[But Par's still out there,] they said.

[Yeah,] I said. [He is. But I've got my resets back. He can't do a thing to me now. He can't do a thing to us.]

I saw the dawning realization on their face, and I smiled wider. [We won,] I whispered.

And then, blissful unconsciousness took me.


	31. Interlude 5

The moment it happened, Par knew.

He felt something jolt and dislodge deep within him. He felt an awareness that he'd had before seeping away, a third eye closing forever. He felt something change in the air – as if now, it was just a tiny bit purer, a tiny bit clearer.

He stopped dead in his tracks, frozen. But he couldn't be sure, not yet. He had to check. Par reached for his magic – the magic that was implanted deep, deep within Gaster's soul, the magic that held it together and that Par could release at any point. He'd always been able to sense it before – after all, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to use his leash.

But now, he felt nothing.

For a few moments, he stood there. He shook, his eyes unfocused, a sudden, uncomfortable feeling coming over him. Hopelessness. It'd been so long since he'd felt that, but now… here it was. It was over. All his plotting, all his planning, was for nothing.

His mind raced, trying to find something, anything he could do. But there was nothing. Without Gaster on his side, the human could use their power again. Whatever he did, whatever schemes he hatched, it wouldn't accomplish a thing. The human would just reset, and it'd be as if it had never happened.

And the scariest thing was that he knew he wouldn't remember it, either. With a piece of Gaster's soul no longer attached to his own, he would no longer have the ability to remember past timelines. For all he knew, the human could've already reset – he wouldn't know. All his progress would be erased, over and over again, and he'd never have any idea. The human would just always be one step ahead of him, as if they knew everything he was going to do – because they would. And he wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.

Par's talons shook, his almost crazed eyes darting from side to side as if desperately looking for a way out. He didn't know how it'd happened. He didn't know how Gaster had restored his soul fully. But he was certain of one thing. He was certain the human was to blame, one way or another.

He didn't like acting like a stereotypical villain from some old story. He didn't like endless, maniacal screaming and ranting and raging. It had always seemed stupid to him.

But sometimes, the urge just could not be denied.

"CHARA! DREEEEEEEEEEMUUUUUUUUURR!"

Frisk looked down with a concerned gaze on Chara's unconscious body. They bit their ghostly lip. They knew they couldn't do anything, they knew they couldn't help… but it still felt wrong to just float around and do nothing.

[Chara?!] they yelled into Chara's mind. No response.

They glanced to the side. They knew that, most likely, there was no real danger anymore. Chara had their resets back. Whatever happened, it'd just be erased, and they could try again. That… felt wrong, too, but it was better than fearing for their life.

But still, Frisk couldn't help but be worried. There was no real reason for it, they didn't think. Sure, Chara's only save point, at this moment, would be only moments before they fell unconscious, at least assuming Frisk understood what was going on correctly. Sure, if something were to happen, it might be difficult to change it with that little time to do it. But Frisk was confident that, given enough tries, Chara could do it. Frankly, they were pretty confident that given enough tries, Chara could do just about anything.

But as for them? They just felt useless.

Maybe they didn't have to be, though.

Frisk thought about their condition. Other than Chara, no one could see them. For someone else to be able to, there'd have to be something unique about them – some sort of connection, either to Frisk themselves or to Chara. And as of just now, Frisk could think of one such person.

They floated away from Chara, their ghostly body passing through trees as if they weren't even there. As they went, they cast one last sad glance at Chara's unconscious form on the ground, and then turned and went away.

Frisk went through Snowdin, none of the monsters seeing them. They just passed through the place like a ghost – which, they supposed, was exactly what they were. And they didn't bother with the bridges and obstacles and twisting paths that littered the place, either. They just flew in a straight line. After all, they could, and there was no reason for them not to use that power. A little smile crawled up their face as they thought of it in those terms.

Eventually, they reached their destination. Frisk ended up just outside Snowdin Town. They didn't have any business with the place itself, but… they figured the person they were looking for ought to be nearby. So, they looked around.

It didn't take too long for them to find him. Gaster stood with his back to a tree in the forest near the town, his arms crossed. There was still blood on his perfect suit, a reminder of what he'd done just a minute or so ago.

 _Nearly done_ , Frisk reminded themselves. _Nearly._ He hadn't actually killed Chara, after all, and as for the injuries… they seemed awful, and they were, but Frisk knew that monster healing magic was really, really powerful. Chara would be okay. Even the missing arm could be regrown – that was something Frisk knew from experience, and they were willing to bet Chara had found it out on their own some time ago, too. So, no harm done. Not in the long run.

Frisk took a deep breath, though they didn't need to breathe anymore. [Hello?] they said. It felt… weird, talking to someone other than Chara. But if their guess was right…

Gaster's eyes widened for a split second, the tiniest expression of surprise, and then he turned his head slightly towards Frisk. "Ah," he said.

[So you can see me,] Frisk said, feeling pleased with themselves. They'd gotten that right, at least.

"No. But I can hear you," Gaster said, staring into the forest with a disinterested expression on his face.

[Oh. I thought you might be able to,] Frisk said. [You know, since there's a bit of Chara's soul in you now…]

Gaster nodded. "Yes."

[Can you help me with something?]

Gaster sighed, bringing a hand up to his face. "What do you need?"

[Well, Chara's still out there,] Frisk reminded Gaster. [They're… not going to be okay by themselves. Not like they are.]

Gaster narrowed his eyes, though since he wasn't facing them, Frisk could barely see it. "I am aware. Shall I remind you that I do not have the fondest opinion of them?"

Frisk blinked a few times. Of course, Gaster couldn't see it, but he guessed what the silence meant. "I don't like them," he explained with a sigh.

[O-oh,] Frisk said. [W-well… still! You can't just leave them out there, not like this! They're going to die!]

"Really?" Gaster asked. "Somehow, I have trouble imagining that they won't be able to get somewhere safe on their own."

[They're unconscious!] Frisk shouted.

Gaster froze. He blinked a few times. "Ah," he said, a sense of weight in his voice.

He looked down, as if considering something. Then, he vanished, and Frisk flinched. A few seconds later, he was back.

"I left them outside Sans' house," he told Frisk. "I trust that will be enough to satisfy you?"

Frisk blinked in surprise. They hadn't expected it to get done that quickly. [Uh, yeah,] they said. [Thanks, Gaster.]

Gaster didn't show any reaction to their thankfulness. "Shouldn't you go there, too?" he asked. "Be there for them when they wake up?"

Frisk looked to the side. What Gaster was saying made sense, and yeah, it'd be good for Chara to have a friend at their side when they woke up. But…

[Actually,] they said, feeling a bit guilty about not immediately going to Chara, [I've still got a few things I want to ask you.]

Gaster rolled his eyes and sighed.

[I know,] Frisk said. [But you're not working with Feathers anymore! It should be fine for you to talk to me, right?]

He thought about it for a moment. "Do not tell Chara anything I say without my permission," he said.

[Uh, okay!]

"Very well," Gaster said. "Then ask."

[Well…] Frisk thought for a moment, wondering where to start. [How did you shut off the resets?]

Gaster shrugged. "It's a complicated task, and one that I myself only barely understood well enough to perform," he admitted. "But I will do my best to explain.

"Consider the soul. It is not a physical object, though it shares some characteristics of one. It exists in a different sense of the word - in a sense, you could consider it more… metaphorical, I suppose… than most objects.

"This distinction is key, because that is exactly what allows one with a splintered soul – such as I was, until recently – to block a timeline-changing event. As I have already explained to Chara, the shards of my soul were, effectively, immune to the resets.

"But they were not merely immune to the resets – they were also the instruments I used to block them. The shards of my soul were incomprehensibly small, but in a metaphysical sense, they could have effects far beyond their size – even if not that far beyond. And a reset is not actually all that powerful, in the sense of sheer magic. It takes a lot of power to initiate, certainly, but the actual metaphorical brush – the brush that sweeps the previous timeline under the rug – does not have as much sheer power as you may imagine.

"Thus, it could be countered by even a relatively fragile blockade. By pouring my will into the shards of my soul, I could set up a sort of wall in time – letting my magic emanate outwards from my soul shards to block the resets. Since a reset still could not move my soul shards directly, it had no choice but to try and break the wall with sheer force – something it could not do. And so, it was stopped."

The forest was still. A few birds tweeted in the distance, and it was the only sound.

[Uh…] Frisk finally said, [I'll be honest… I didn't get any of that.]

"As I have said," Gaster said, "I myself do not understand it that well. I would not expect you, of all people, to do any better."

Frisk raised an eyebrow. [Did you just say I'm stupid?]

"Yes."

A wordless exclamation escaped Frisk's lips.

Gaster just folded his arms and looked at the sky. "It's true. Anyway, anything else? You can tell all of that to Chara, by the way."

[…Thanks,] Frisk said doubtfully.

They thought for a moment. [So… now that you don't have your shards anymore, will Chara be able to go back to before this all happened again?]

Gaster thought for a moment before answering. "I doubt it," he said. "I have been placing barriers in time often, especially during our battle. Just because my soul is whole now does not mean that those barriers will disappear at the points in time where they are present. It is most likely that they will only be able to return to, at the earliest, the point in time just after I cut their arm off."

[Soo…] Frisk hesitated. [No? They won't be able to go back to before… all this?]

"No, they will not," Gaster confirmed. "At least, most likely. Though, you should ask Chara if they feel anything strange after they wake up, too. What I have just said is probable, but still merely a theory. But I am certain that if I am correct, Chara will feel it."

[Okay,] Frisk said, still not quite certain what Gaster was going on about. [I'll… do that. I guess I have permission to tell Chara that too, then?]

"Yes," Gaster said. "What else?"

[So…] Frisk started, and then hesitated. [Now that your soul's whole again… will you no longer be able to remember resets?]

Gaster shrugged. "I do not know. Perhaps I will not. But I think it more likely that I still will. That sort of knowledge is not something that goes away easily, even when it should."

[Alright,] Frisk said. They were somewhat relieved to hear that – they couldn't imagine how it would feel to know about the resets, but be incapable of remembering them. Sans was already upset enough about that, and they didn't want to put Gaster into the same situation. [What about Feathers?]

"Par," Gaster said, putting an additional bit of emphasis onto the name, "will most likely no longer remember. His knowledge was borrowed from me, not something he had on his own."

[Oh,] Frisk said. [That matters?]

"Again, I do not know," Gaster said. "But in matters so metaphysical and… well… magical as these, I find it likely that it does. I cannot say it makes much sense to me, either, but…" He shrugged.

[Alright,] Frisk said, and looked down. They knew Chara hated Feathers, and they knew they had good reason to, but… they couldn't quite bring themselves to do the same. Certainly, the idea of robbing him of his ability to remember resets didn't sit right with them.

At least he wasn't dead, they reminded themselves. At least there was that.

"And you can tell them that, too," Gaster added. "Anything else?"

Frisk thought for a moment. There wasn't anything else they wanted to know, not right at the moment. But just in case, because they definitely didn't want to miss their chance, they thought for a bit. They thought about Par, about the mysteries that were left surrounding him. But all those mysteries seemed to be solved, now.

…except the most important one.

[How did Par get so powerful?] Frisk asked.

Gaster froze. He looked out into the forest, a grim expression on his skull, his arms folded. When he finally spoke, it was with a firm, heavy voice, the sort of voice that simply made the listener obey. "I will tell you. But should you whisper a word of what you are about to learn to Chara," he said, "I will direct all my considerable intellect towards the task of bringing you back to life just so I can kill you, and do it properly this time."

[Uh… so,] Frisk asked, nervously, [don't tell Chara?]

"Do not tell Chara," Gaster nodded. "And should you obtain the ability to communicate with someone else, do not tell them, either."

[Okay,] Frisk said, a bit worried.

Gaster took a deep breath. "In that case, I suppose the best way to make you understand is by telling you Par's origin.

"He has lived for a long time, much longer than you may think. In fact, just as I was, he was born before the War. He was born on the Surface. And back then, he was nothing more than a normal monster.

"But then the War struck. And Par, alongside a rather significant number of other monsters, refused to fight. He simply fled from the battle, unheeding of his kin's plight, ignoring the accusations of cowardice they leveled at him. The monsters, you understand, needed all the help they could get. To them, Par's abandonment of them was effectively betrayal – and they treated him, as well as all who stood with him, as traitors. But he didn't care. He still decided that he wanted no part in the War, and so, he fled, retreating into the depths of the wilderness.

"And here," Gaster said, "is where the historical records begin to outright lie. Frisk, allow me to ask you a question. The War happened long, long ago – with that level of technology, do you truly believe the human race had the means to track down every single monster, everywhere, and corral them into the Underground?"

"Uh…" Frisk wasn't prepared for this. They weren't sure what _corral_ meant, either, but they figured it was something like _trap_. And when they thought about it like that, the answer seemed obvious. "No. I guess not."

And as they said that, a smile spread across their face. "Oh, and Par was one of the ones they didn't get, right?" they asked.

"Precisely," Gaster agreed. "It seems I may have somewhat underestimated your intelligence. You are correct – Par was one of those who was never found, and never trapped underneath the barrier with the rest of us. And yet he was just as trapped as we were – only in his case, he was confined to the untouched wilderness, not to the Underground.

"And Par, you must understand, was not particularly happy about this. He harbored within him a deep resentment – not only for humanity, for forcing him into that situation, but for monsterkind too, for treating him as they had when he refused to fight in the War. His only true friends were the few other monsters who were also hiding alongside him, and even then, they had frequent conflicts. It is a miracle, frankly, that they managed to survive as long as they did.

"But survive they did, living off what they could find – until a group of humans, finally, found them. Two humans, in fact – but you know better than anyone that even a single human can be a deadly force when facing a monster. Yet this was not the same situation – the humans, in this case, were simply exploring. They had no intent to fight, and more than likely, they were just as scared of the monsters as the monsters were of them. Yet fear drives humans and monsters alike to rash decisions, and such a decision was made. Fearing for their safety, the monsters decided that they had to stop the humans from getting news back, stop them from telling anyone that they were still hiding out there – and they only had one good way to do that."

Frisk listened, horror dawning on their face. They knew where this was going, and it disturbed them. They'd always thought of monsters as kind and understanding. Of course, they'd known, they supposed, deep inside, that they were really just like humans, and could be just as flawed, but to actually hear about them acting like that…

"The monsters chose to attack. And Par," Gaster said, "as before, fled. He retreated further into the forest, ignoring his allies' protests, and hid away from the fighting.

"That left his group up against the humans. The humans were unprepared, of course, and without weapons – but, as it turned out, that did not matter. Par does not know what, precisely, happened, and thus, neither do I – but when he emerged from his hiding spot and looked out at the carnage, he found all the monsters he had allied with dead. But they had not gone down easily, and in the battle, they had slain both of the humans, too. And that was when Par saw his chance.

"More bitter than ever before, he took the souls of both of the humans. They gave him the power to pass through the barrier, and so, he did, intending to exact his vengeance against monsterkind first. Afterwards, he decided, he would move on to humans. And that is how he ended up here."

Frisk thought for a moment, trying to digest what Gaster had just said. [Uh… wow,] they said. [So… he has two human souls?]

"Not anymore," Gaster said. "Some time ago, he sacrificed one of them and used its power – just its power, not the soul itself – to create Slayer. I had thought it a stupid decision, at the time, but looking back, perhaps he was right to do so. But regardless, that leaves him with only one soul, now."

[Okay,] Frisk said. [But, wait… if he had two souls at some point, how come Chara could still reset?]

Gaster frowned. "The only explanation I have for that is simply that their soul is that powerful. It makes sense – neither of the souls Par had absorbed were souls of determination, after all."

[Ah,] Frisk nodded, feeling a sense of pride in Chara blossoming through them. They knew they were determined, but… that much determination? That was impressive. [How do you know all this?]

"I have been with Par for quite a while, now. It was not difficult to get him to divulge his secrets," Gaster said. "Admittedly, some of this is still guesswork, but much of it I know for a fact."

[Alright.] There was one more thing Frisk wanted to ask. Their throat felt dry at the thought of it, but… [So… did Par actually, you know,] they asked, [ever… kill anyone?]

For a moment, Gaster considered it. "Not personally," he said. "That, I think, is why he hesitated back at the Core, when he had a chance to fire at Chara. He is not a killer. Not yet."

Frisk breathed a sigh of relief. That made them feel a bit better, oddly. They didn't really want to hate Par – they thought that couldn't lead them anywhere good – but they thought that if he'd actually killed someone, and for those sorts of reasons, too, they wouldn't be able not to. At least like this, they knew there was still at least something good in him.

[Alright. Thanks, Gaster,] Frisk said.

"You are welcome. And remember – not a word to Chara." Gaster raised an eyebrow, or did the skeletal version of that, anyway. "Speaking of which, you do not sound well, yourself. What is the matter?"

Frisk shrugged. [It's just… I've never thought monsters were capable of something like that.]

Gaster stared out into space. "As I have said, I was born before the War. And throughout my many years of existence, I have learned one thing," he said. "All of us – human or monster – have a beast inside of us. A beast whose only purpose is to survive, to achieve greatness for oneself. A beast who does not care for morals or society or other people. A beast that we keep chained up, because without doing that, we would be no more than base animals. That is not good or bad – it is simply what we are.

"The beast can be tamed," Gaster said. "It can be mastered, and it can be useful. Slayer's fate is proof of that much. But should the beast ever truly be released… your friend gave us quite the demonstration of what that results in. And anyone's beast, human or monster, can break free of its chains. All it takes is the right situation, and a momentary lapse in control. The species does not matter. All that matters is that we are all people – and people can be wondrously kind. But every single one of them has the potential for untold cruelty, too."

Frisk looked blankly at Gaster. They… didn't like what he'd said. It felt wrong to think that everyone, every single person around them, could potentially fall to evil. They didn't want to think about the fact that there was no one, no one at all, who was exempt from that just because they were a monster, or something like that. It didn't feel good. But… it sounded right.

Gaster must have noticed their silence. "Perhaps I lapsed into something more poetic than I had intended there," he said. "But my point stands. What we are does not matter. All that matters is who."

He looked at them. "You can tell that to Chara, if you wish to, though I doubt you will. And speaking of them, should you not return to them?"

Frisk just nodded. [Yeah. I guess.]


	32. Normality

The world swam into focus, my consciousness coming and fading as it pleased. Everything was dull, faded, blurred... but at least, I was pretty sure I was OK. And there wasn't any pain anymore. That was probably a good sign.

Something caught my eye, above me. A white, furry blur, staring down at me.

I blinked a few times, ran a hand across my eyes, and willed my vision to clear. It did, and the blur resolved into Toriel's head. She was staring at me with wide, worried eyes, and biting her lip. If she was here, I figured she'd probably healed me, which also explained the lack of pain. I turned my head right, and found my previously missing arm there, as if nothing had ever happened – though my sweater was still more than a little bloody around the shoulder.

I smiled. Healing magic was pretty convenient.

"Hey there, Tori," I said, turning back towards her. "Sorry for scaring you like that."

"M-my child…" she said.

"Got into a fight," I told her. "I'll tell you about it later."

I pushed myself into a sitting position. I felt a bit drowsy, but it was an almost… nice sort of exhaustion. Like I'd just had a good rest and my body just wasn't quite warmed up enough to do much yet. I felt nice and warm and peaceful inside, and I just didn't feel like doing anything to interrupt that.

But I wasn't the kind of person to just lie in bed all day. That could be left to Sans. I took a look around and saw that I was in Papyrus' room – or, I reminded myself with a note of regret, what used to be Papyrus' room. I got off the bed, my legs still stiff, and looked around for a place to sit.

It took me a moment to realize there was none.

It took me another moment to realize there was one – the bed I'd just gotten up off.

It took me yet another moment to realize I'd had this exact same realization before, in a very similar situation.

God damn it.

I sat back down.

Toriel blinked at me, as if confused at what I was doing. Which… was fair enough.

"Hey, Tori," I said. "You remember I told you about the powers I used to have, right?"

"Y-yes…" Toriel said.

"I got them back." A smile spread across my face. "I did it."

A hesitant smile spread across her face, and her eyes lit up with… something. "That's great, my child."

"We don't have to worry about the bird anymore," I told her, almost whispering. "I don't have to worry about the bird anymore. It doesn't matter what he does – to me, to you, or to anyone else. He can't make any of it last."

Her smile grew more confident. "My child…" she said, reaching a hand down to rest upon my shoulders. "You… are certain?"

I nodded. I could just… feel it. It was hard to describe, but I was sure, beyond any doubt, that I'd be able to reset any time I wanted to. "Yeah."

She hugged me. "Then you have saved us all," she said. "You have done an excellent job, Chara."

Part of me noted that she didn't sound all that joyful. Oh, she sounded happy enough, and proud, but… there wasn't that note of excitement that I'd have expected. I knew that she'd never experienced the danger firsthand – I knew that she'd never personally felt its effects – so to her, it must've felt distant, far away. I could see how she wouldn't be quite as glad as me to get it taken care of. But… still. It felt sort of disappointing. I'd expected some more genuine gratitude.

The rest of me shoved that part of me – that egotistical, arrogant part that had always been there, and had probably played more than a little part in making me do what I did in my previous runs – to the side. Maybe I'd saved everyone – but so what? I couldn't expect them to go around treating me like some sort of hero. Those sorts of expectations never led everywhere good. Besides, it wasn't like I'd done it in the best possible way. I'd hurt people along the way, and some of them, I'd hurt badly. I couldn't just expect everyone to forget that.

And besides… at the end of the day, Toriel – my mother – was here, and she was here for me. Could I really desire anything more?

I hugged her back. And for a few moments, we just sat like that, in each other's arms, letting our fears and worries seep away.

I broke off the hug, a childlike grin on my face. It struck me, suddenly, how weird it was that I thought of something I myself did as _childlike_. I was a kid, after all – of course I'd do some childish things. Why wouldn't I? Why was it even notable? Well, I supposed I'd just stopped really thinking of myself as a kid somewhere along the way. I'd started thinking of myself as… something else. I didn't know what, exactly, but… I definitely hadn't thought of myself as a child in this last day or so. Or, hell, for that matter, I didn't think I'd ever really thought of myself as a child since I'd woken up in Frisk's body. I'd just never had any chance – or will – to be just a normal little kid since then.

But after all I'd done – after all the potential death I'd faced, after all I'd done, after how much I'd been battered and bruised and hurt… the prospect of a normal life – of a calm, peaceful life – suddenly seemed so, so appealing. And suddenly, I realized that with everything that had happened in this last timeline – with me finally realizing what a horrible path I'd been on before, and with the bird no longer being a threat – that prospect seemed closer than ever before.

I smiled even wider at the thought of that. Me, a normal child, living with my parents – adoptive, in this case, of course – doing all the things normal children did. Which, honestly, at this point… I barely even remembered what those things were. It was an almost absurd image. And yet… and yet… I couldn't help but imagine how refreshing it would feel. To finally be safe. To finally have fun and play games and just relax, and not have to worry about fighting something every few hours.

It'd have to wait, of course. There were still some things that needed to be done. But after all of that was over… I could have that sort of life. I could have the sort of life normal kids had. And suddenly, I couldn't wait.

But I'd have to. Again, there were still some things that needed to be done.

I pushed myself off of the bed once more. "I'll tell you everything later, Tori," I reassured Toriel. "But I've got to go talk to someone first."

Toriel nodded her head slightly. "Farewell, then, my child."

I gave her a smile as I walked over to the door. I opened it, stepped out into the hallway, and closed it behind me. I leaned against the wall. [Frisk?] I asked.

[Here,] they said, ghostly form appearing beside me. [Didn't want to interrupt your conversation.]

[Thanks,] I said.

[You're welcome,] they said. And then they frowned. [So… what do we do now?]

[Well,] I said, [first we tell Sans. That's going to be an awkward one. Then we tell everyone else. Then…] I raised an eyebrow. [You have any ideas on how we could break the barrier?]

[Yeah, actually,] they said. Then, they added, a bit nervously, [Well… I don't know if it's going to work in a run that's this different. But… hopefully…?]

[We'll just have to hope,] I said with a smile on my face. [And if it doesn't work… well, we can always just try something else.] Frisk frowned, but said nothing.

[And then what?] they asked.

[After we break the barrier?] I chuckled. [You're not going to believe this, but… I've actually been thinking about what it'd be like to just be a normal kid. You know, just… live, and do all the things normal people do. And… I don't think it'd be that bad.]

Frisk raised an eyebrow. [You're right,] they said. [I don't believe that.]

I grinned. [I know. It sounds absurd. But after all this life-risking and death-defying and world-saving… I think I'd like something nice and simple. And safe.]

[Yeah,] Frisk smiled. [That'd be pretty nice. Though… I still can't imagine you just being a normal kid.]

[Well, I doubt I could handle being completely normal,] I said. [Don't worry, I think we'll still have plenty of weirdness in our lives. Just… hopefully less dangerous weirdness.]

Frisk nodded. [Yeah. Hopefully.]

I smiled for a few more moments, then sighed and shook my head. [Well, time to tell Sans I've got my resets back. That'll be a fun time.]

[Mm,] Frisk muttered noncommittally.

I crossed the hallway and knocked on Sans' door. No answer. I counted the time in my head, preparing myself to say something just as he appeared behind me, but as I did that, I realized he wouldn't try the same thing twice in a row. But I had no doubt he'd do something similar.

"Sans, you're going to come out of… somewhere…" I said, "and say something in three… two… one…"

Nothing happened. I raised an eyebrow.

The door swung open, Sans on the other side. My eyes widened in surprise. Sans had opened the door for me. _Sans_ had _opened the door_ for me. Without any pranks, jokes, japes, laughs, or whatever other synonyms for that there were.

I shrugged and stepped through. "Hey, Sans."

"hey, kiddo," he said, a little undertone of bitterness in his voice. That was when I figured it out. Of course, he'd still be distraught about Papyrus. I'd almost forgotten how recently he'd died, in all the chaos that had gone on immediately afterwards, but to Sans… to Sans, the news had basically just gotten to him. Obviously, he wouldn't be in the mood for comedy right now.

And I'd been the one who'd torn into him and told him he was responsible for his brother's death. I suddenly felt like a bastard and an idiot.

"Sorry for… you know. What happened earlier," I said.

Sans stared at me, his eyes piercing. He said nothing, but closed the door.

"I wanted to tell you something," I told him. Still, he said nothing, but walked over to his bed and sat on it.

"So…" I said, and took a deep breath. "You remember how I told you my resets were blocked?"

His gaze turned cold. "they aren't anymore," he said, harshly, "are they?"

I glanced to the side. "Yeah. They aren't."

"you got them back," he said, flatly.

I nodded. "Mm-hm."

Sans looked to the side. "can you bring papyrus back?"

My eyes widened. "Actually… maybe," I said, hope in my voice. Gaster had been blocking my resets, but if he wasn't anymore… there shouldn't have been any reason I couldn't just go back to before Papyrus was killed now. Hell, maybe I could go back to before Undyne was killed. I'd have to do a lot of work to get everything back to where it was before – to make sure everyone knew who I was, and to get Slayer and Gaster out of the way – but if I could save them… would it be worth it?

The thought of trying to get all the good things back to how they were now was... daunting, to say the least. Oh, I could do it, I thought. After all, Frisk, at least, would remember the reset, and I figured there was a good chance that even now, Gaster still would, too. If that happened, getting him out of the way wouldn't be hard at all, and from there on, the rest would go fairly smoothly – at least, hopefully. But Sans wouldn't remember – and he'd still know that I'd killed everyone many, many times before. And without knowing how far I'd come… that'd be how he treated me. As a mass murderer who was just putting on a front because I wanted to try out something new.

And I didn't want to be treated like that. Not again. But… if I could save them…

I closed my eyes. If that was how I had to be treated, it was nothing more than I deserved. After all, there was a reason – a very good one – that he'd treat me that way. And if I could save them… did I really have any right not to?

[Chara…] Frisk said from beside me, worried.

[I'll try it,] I said. [It's… the least I can do.]

[But you'd erase this timeline,] they said. [All that's happened here… it'd just be like it never happened. All the friends you've made…]

I nodded, sadly. [Yeah. I know. But… it's worth it.]

Frisk hesitated. [It might not work,] they said.

[I'd be lying if I said there isn't a part of me that sort of wants it to fail,] I admitted. [But I've got to try.]

Frisk said nothing.

I drew upon my determination. It'd been a while since I'd last done it, and the feeling of it rushing into my mind felt… weird. But good, too. It was like a burning sun within my thoughts, burning my doubts to cinders and bringing confidence into my mind. Suddenly, I felt like I could do it. It'd be hard… but I could do it.

Yet, when I called upon it, when I looked deep inside myself and tried to feel for that point, that point to which I could go back to… all I saw was that moment on the snow, when my arm was gone and my other hand was hurt like hell and I'd just barely managed to stop Gaster from killing me and gotten him to abandon Par. And that was it. Everything behind that just felt like it was covered with some sort of dark fog, and I knew, somewhere deep inside me, that I would be unable to go back there.

That feeling of power faded from my mind, the determination receding back to the depths of my soul. The outside world came back into focus, and I saw Sans staring at me, anxiously – but also, a bit hopefully.

I closed my eyes. "No," I said, and opened them again, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry. I can't go back to any point before when I got my power back."

[Yeah,] Frisk said. [I… I was actually planning to ask you about that. Guess I don't need to anymore.]

Sans looked to the side and, with a bit of effort, sighed. "guess that was too much to hope for."

"Sorry," I said, dejectedly. "I… I wish I could do it, too." I didn't tell him that there was still that part of me that was glad I'd failed. I didn't tell him that there was still a part of me that didn't want to do all this again, didn't want to go back to before, not even if I could save Papyrus. Even if I could save Undyne, even if I could save Papyrus, even if I could stop anything bad from happening… there would still be a part of me that wouldn't want to do it if I had to go back too far.

But I wouldn't listen. I didn't care if there was some part of me that was still too much of a coward to do that. I'd do it anyway, because some things needed to be done.

And yet sometimes, they just couldn't be done.

"alright," Sans said with a shrug. "well, tibia honest, i wasn't really expecting anything else, either."

He looked back at me. "so… we back to you toying with our lives again, now?"

My eyes widened in surprise. "No," I said, and it came out more defensively than I'd thought it would.

"ya sure?" he asked. "i mean, it's what you've done all the time, before this happened."

He was right, and that thought disturbed me. I had been toying with their lives, as he'd put it, for a long, long time before any of this, and they – and him in particular – had no reason to think it'd be any different this time. And… did I really have any good reason to think it'd be different, either? Would I go mad with power and fall back into my old habits? Even if I didn't start murdering everyone again, what was to stop me from ceasing to think of them as real people? What was to stop me from just experimenting for a few timelines, doing different things just for the hell of it, and telling myself it was okay all the while, even as the monsters suffered under my heel? What was to stop me from making up more and more excuses for what I was doing, when what I was doing was trapping every single monster in a moment in time?

I pushed those thoughts out of my head, because they were uncomfortable. But then, I thought for a moment and let them back in. Refusing to think about those things would be the absolute best way for me to fall back into darkness. I needed to keep those horrific thoughts in my mind, and I needed to remind myself of those possibilities whenever I did something. And I needed to question myself every single time I reset, and I needed to remind myself that it was always better not to, if at all possible. And more than anything, I needed to remind myself that that awful, awful version of me – that version that played with the lives of others, that cared only about themselves – was what would come to be if I ever stopped being hard on myself.

That would be the only way I could avoid that future. But just in case, I took one more precaution.

[Huh,] I said to Frisk. [You know… he's sort of right.]

Frisk's eyes widened. [B-but you're not going to do any of that!] they yelled. [R-right?]

I nodded. [I'd hope not to,] I said. [But I don't know if, at some point, I'll start doing it without even realizing it. So, Frisk?] I turned towards them. [If you ever catch me doing something with my power that I shouldn't be doing – if you ever catch me starting to slip, starting to use it for things I shouldn't use it for – I'd take it as a personal favor if you yelled my ears off about it.]

[Uh…] They smiled. [Okay, Chara.]

I smiled back. [Alright. Thanks, Frisk. Really.]

I looked Sans in the eyes. "I'm sure. It won't happen again." I thought for a moment. When what was being discussed was something like this, I decided, there was no such thing as being too paranoid. "But if it does," I added, "please… stop me. Do whatever you have to do to do it – but stop me. I don't want to do something like that."

Sans stared at me. "that… can't be done."

I said nothing.

He glanced to the side. "okay," he conceded. "i'll try."

I swallowed. It seemed far away and inconsequential at the moment, but… I had quite possibly just signed my own death warrant. I knew that if I ever fell to that level, Sans really would do anything to stop me – and if he couldn't do so without killing me, then he'd kill me. Without a moment's hesitation.

But I'd rather be dead than force them all to suffer once more just because I couldn't control myself.

"Thank you, Sans," I said, seriously, and gave him a nod of my head

"you're welcome, kiddo."

It struck me then that… I'd still never told Sans who I was. As far as he knew, I was just another human. He didn't know I was Chara. Hell, even Papyrus never knew that, and now… now he was dead, and I'd never get to tell him.

My heart lurched. I… didn't want to tell him. The thought was scary. He could be intimidating as hell, and telling him everything – telling him Frisk's fate – would be… terrifying. That was all there was to it. But… I sort of needed to, didn't I? He deserved to know.

But I didn't need to tell him now. I had my resets back, after all, so I didn't have to worry about him dying. I could tell him whenever I felt ready.

 _No,_ I told myself. That wasn't how I needed to be thinking. Just because our time wasn't limited was no excuse for procrastination, especially when it was about something like this. The sooner I told him, the better.

Damn it. I really didn't want to tell him. I'd told just about everyone else, by now, but… still, I couldn't help but be nervous as hell.

I took the plunge.

"Oh, and Sans, I've…" I said, "I've got something to tell you."

"mm?" Sans said, prompting me to continue.

"You're not going to believe this, but…" I took a deep breath. "My name is Chara. Yes, that Chara, from the legends."

Sans' eyes widened in surprise. Which, honestly, was so rare that in some way, that in itself made this worth it.

"I, uh…" I said, and hesitated. [Frisk, is it OK if I tell him about you?]

[Sure,] Frisk said, and my heart fell. A big part of me was sort of hoping they'd say no, and give me an excuse to not tell him about my biggest crime. But… now I had to. Which was good, I told myself. The sooner I got this out of the way, the better. But it was hard to believe that.

"I'm not actually the kid who fell down here," I told him. "They… they were someone else. Their name was Frisk, and they were a good, kind person." I chuckled nervously. "You know. Completely unlike me.

"But, uh… I was there too. I'm not sure why, but… I was there, in their soul, with them. I'd just float around as a ghost and talk to them occasionally. Well… at first. But back then, I was still a bastard. When I saw that they weren't interested in killing people, I just… went to sleep, basically.

"But one day, they got curious. And they started killing too. They got to the end, and they decided that was it – they weren't going to do that run again. But, uh… it was already too late. By that point, by doing that, they'd… let me in, I guess. I think. I'm not really sure how it worked.

"Point is, thanks to that, and thanks to the fact that their determination was lower than it usually was at that point… I was able to swoop in and, uh…" I hesitated. "Take over their body."

Sans blinked at me.

"Aaand… you know the rest," I said.

"you're walking around in a stolen body?" he asked.

"Uh. Yeah."

Sans' eyes narrowed. "so… what's up with this frisk, then?"

"Well, for a while, they were just… asleep, basically," I told him. "Like I was. But then, after… you know… all this stuff happened, and I realized just how bad I used to be… well, eventually, I remembered about them. And I… woke them up. So now, they're with me. You know, floating around as a ghost, talking to me sometimes. No one else can see them, but…" I shrugged.

"oh, yeah, that's neat," Sans said. "ever thought about giving them their body back?"

"I asked them," I said. "They said they didn't want it."

Sans narrowed his eyes even further. "I promise!" I said, defensively.

He stared at me for a few moments, and then sighed. "alright," he said.

I raised an eyebrow. That had gone… smoother than I'd expected. [Huh,] I said to Frisk. [I'd expected something a bit more… dramatic.]

They shrugged. [Well, it's Sans.]

[Good point,] I admitted.

"you got anything else to tell me or…?" Sans asked.

"No, guess not," I said. "Bye." I opened the door and walked out of the room, closing it behind me.

And now that I'd told Sans about all that, there was a question that was bothering me. [Actually, Frisk,] I asked them, [why don't you want your body back?]

They gulped. [I'm still really weak right now,] they said, in a somewhat odd voice that made my eyebrows raise. [You know… most of my determination's still gone, and stuff. I couldn't control that body if I wanted to. So…]

I looked back at them. They were pale, and their eyes had grown massive. [Frisk,] I chastised, [you're a terrible liar.]

[Oh,] they said, crestfallen.

I waited for a moment.

[Okay,] they said. [I just… I just want you to get to live. You know? I mean… I don't like being like this, but… you're already in control. You're having fun. You're being a good person. I just… don't want to take that away from you.]

I shuddered. Now that they mentioned it, the thought of having to give up on all this was… horrifying. But… I couldn't tell them that. If they'd prefer having this body back, they deserved it.

Even if it meant I never got to be a normal kid, like I wanted to be. Even if it meant I never got to talk to my friends again. I'd taken enough from Frisk – I needed to give something back, too.

I gulped. [Frisk, you don't have to,] I said. [If you want this body back…]

[I know, but… would you really be happy like that?] they asked.

I thought for a moment. […No,] I said.

[Then I don't want that, either,] Frisk said.

I nodded. [Thank you,] I said, quietly.

For a moment, there was an odd, uncomfortable silence in the house.

I broke it. [So, what now?] I asked, and smiled. [I mean, you're the expert, now.]

[Alright,] they said with a chuckle. It reassured me that, for now, at least, everything was back to normal, and I let out a breath in relief.

[Now…] they said, cheer in their voice, [to Asgore!]


	33. At Last

**AN:** Sorry for missing yesterday's update, just... sorta slipped my mind...

* * *

New Home was, as always, a dull greyish-white color. The quiet sound of my footsteps was the only noise in Asgore's castle, and so even something so little as that filled the room and echoed into my ears. Occasionally, some monsters would come up to me and talk to me, telling me stories from the kingdom's past. Stories, in fact, that were mostly about me. Of course, I already knew all of them, but I listened politely anyway.

Eventually, I came to the golden corridor.

Before going on, I paused and took a deep breath. This place… held a lot of memories for me. I couldn't even honestly tell myself they were bad memories, though I wanted to. The fact was, no matter how much I didn't like it, I loved fighting. True, I liked it less when my life was actually on the line… but even then, I couldn't deny it. The feeling of the adrenaline pulsing through my veins, the rush that came with every narrow dodge, was a sensation I utterly adored. I figured that was probably a bad thing, that it was probably wrong to enjoy combat that much, but I couldn't help it. Even with how much I'd changed, that love of battle was still there, deep inside me.

It was an unsettling thought. Maybe I could find some less cruel outlet for that passion, maybe it didn't have to be something evil, but regardless, the simple fact that it was there scared me. To know that even now, I couldn't help but find myself having fun while I was fighting… it felt wrong. It felt almost profane, somehow. Like that very enjoyment was something so completely immoral that just having it turned me into a bad person.

I shuddered.

[Chara? You okay?] Frisk asked.

[Fine,] I told them, less than convincingly.

[I know,] they said sadly. [This place… can't have good memories for you, huh?]

[No. It does.] I licked my lips. [And that's what scares me.]

Frisk raised an eyebrow. [Huh?]

[I liked it, Frisk,] I told them. [I'd always liked fighting Sans. I'd liked the adrenaline, the challenge. And even now, even after all this, when I was against Gaster…] I bit my lip.

[Oh,] Frisk said.

[That's bad, isn't it?] I asked them. [It doesn't feel like that's the sort of thing I should be enjoying.]

[It… doesn't have to be,] they reassured me, though they didn't sound so confident themselves. [I'm sure you can do something good with that.]

[Like what?] I asked, bitterly.

Frisk shrugged. [I dunno! But, I mean, humans have got all sorts of sports and stuff…]

I thought about it for a moment. [I guess,] I said. [Though, I'll be honest… after all this, it sort of feels weird to think of myself doing something like that.]

Frisk smiled. [Yeah, it really does.]

[But… I'm just scared, Frisk,] I told them. [What if I can't resist? What if I start killing everyone again? What if I turn back into what I was before?]

[That won't happen, Chara,] they said. [You're not like that anymore.] They grinned. [And besides, if it does, I'll always be there to yell at you!]

I smiled at them. [Yeah. I guess you will.] I turned back towards the door. [Thanks, Frisk.]

And then, I stepped through into the corridor.

I closed my eyes and let my determination flow through me. _Just in case,_ I told myself, and created a save point where I was standing. I didn't anticipate that I'd need to use it, but after so many runs where I'd had to fight Sans here… the thought of not saving just felt way too dangerous. It probably wasn't, of course, but by force of habit, it still scared the hell out of me.

Then, I opened my eyes and tried my best to look like I wasn't scared to death. Thankfully, recent events had forced me to very rapidly learn how to put on a brave face, and I managed to at least not look like a cornered mouse. Still, I was scared inside, and that felt wrong to me. _Come on,_ I told myself. _You've nearly died… how many times now? Sans isn't going to attack you, and besides, you've got your resets to fall back on. You shouldn't be scared of this._

But I was. I was scared of what the skeleton would say. I was scared that he'd still see me as nothing more than a murderer, or as someone who'd still toy with all their lives just for fun. I knew I wasn't that anymore – I knew I wasn't – but the thought of someone else thinking I was… it was just about unbearable. I didn't want them to think of me like that. I wanted the monsters to accept me, to just see that I really was different now. And Sans... as much as I liked him, I couldn't help but feel that he'd have a hard time believing that. And the worst part was, he'd be justified.

But I had to do this, and if I could force myself to put my life at risk over and over again, I could force myself to talk to someone. Yes, Sans would judge me. Yes, he'd call me out for every little thing I did wrong. Yes, I was scared of what he'd say. More than scared – terrified. But I'd faced down terror over and over now, and I had no intention of stopping just because it wasn't the same sort I was used to.

I stepped forward. "Hey, Sans."

"heya, kiddo," he said, seeming to simply appear out of the shadows. I'd never quite figured out how he did that.

"so…" He dragged the word out for a moment. "i'll be honest. this was unexpected.

"you know, i thought i'd more or less had everything figured out. i actually had a different speech prepared for all the different variations i could think of, all depending on how many monsters you killed. course, i never really expected that number to drop below _all of them_ , but… eh.

"and then…" He gestured vaguely with his hand. "this happened. i mean, what do i even say about this?"

I said nothing. Somehow, the way he spoke gave what he said a certain kind of gravitas to it, even while he was outright admitting that he didn't really have any clue what to say.

"you've come far," he said. "there's a few things i'm supposed to tell you, about EXP and LOVE. but i think ya know all that already, don't you?"

I nodded, my throat still dry. Monsters had had those concepts for a long time, and I'd learned about them back when I was alive. (Of course, Toriel didn't want me to. She'd thought it was wrong for an innocent child like me to know about things like that. But I was a curious little bastard, so I learned whatever I could anyway.) And even if there were gaps in my knowledge, I figured Frisk would probably be able to fill me in.

"well…" He hesitated. "by any reasonable metric, you should have a ton of both by now. you've killed, what, hundreds of monsters by now? maybe you've even gotten to a thousand. that was in past timelines, of course, but… does that really mean it doesn't matter?

He paused for a moment. "you know…" he said, almost wistfully, "i'd always thought that someone like you was irredeemable.

"you were too far gone, i thought. you'd never be able to experience any of the things that made people decent, that made them not do all the things you did." He looked right at me, but there was an almost gentle look in his eyes. I wasn't used to that. "but you did, didn't you? i still can't say i know what it was, but you managed to turn away from your path. you've committed unforgivable crimes, killed countless people… and then just turned around, stopped, and walked away. you know how hard that should've been?"

He thought for a moment, and then sighed. "as i've said, i really don't know what to say here. you've done horrible things, and yet… you've changed. if this was the last timeline, i wouldn't even have hesitated before declaring you a terrible person. but…" Again, he paused for a moment, as if to collect his thoughts. "well, it seems silly to forgive you for that much just because you've decided to stop doing it, doesn't it? but that's what i want to do. you've done horrible, horrible things, and yet, i still feel like now, you're not that bad of a person."

Sans looked me in the eye. "although… if not for the resets, i would've been ready to kill you here and now."

Still, I said nothing. But I swallowed nervously.

"and that's the issue, isn't it?" he mused. "if you'd been anyone else – if your actions had actually had consequences and all those people were still dead – i wouldn't have even thought about forgiving you. but you're unique. your actions didn't have the consequences they should've. so… i'm willing to let you start again.

"kiddo…" he said, and then thought for a moment, "chara… i don't know how hard it was for you. something like what you did should've been impossible. someone who's committed as many atrocities as you have doesn't just develop a conscience one day. they're, as i said, too far gone - by that point, they would've stopped even thinking about the sort of pain and anguish their actions cause. and even if they did, the guilt would just tear them apart. there's no way they'd be able to just start being a good person one day and become a functional member of society.

"yet you did it, didn't you?" I could swear his grin was just a bit bigger than usual. "you did the right thing, even when it should've been just about impossible. maybe that doesn't erase all the things you've done, but it's one hell of a start."

He looked me right in the eye, his voice suddenly turning cold and hard. "of course, that doesn't mean you're off the hook. i think you know, better than anyone, that you're just one or two wrong decisions away from just becoming what you were before once again. so you know what, chara? just remember to keep doing the right thing. keep that in mind, and… well… with any luck, the impossible might just happen.

"you're about to come face to face with asgore," he told me, as if I didn't already know. "i don't know what's going to happen when you do. i don't have the slightest clue. but i know what might happen, and it scares me. so, just remember… whatever happens, however this goes, keep doing the right thing. "

And he vanished.

For a few moments there was nothing. Just the quiet, quiet wind that went through the corridor, and the bright light playing with the motes of dust in the air.

I raised an eyebrow. [That… went better than expected.]

[Yeah,] Frisk said. [Though… I'm worried.]

[Hm?]

[You know, about what he said,] they said. [About… how you could still become what you were before.]

I lowered my head. [Yeah,] I said. [He's right. I've thought about it, myself, and… I think he's right.]

[Oh.] Frisk sounded downcast.

[Mm,] I agreed. [Well… I guess we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen.]

[Okay,] they said, an edge of resolve to their voice. [Let's go, then?]

[Let's go.]

I walked forward, the sound of my footsteps on the cold, hard floor filling my ears. When I got to the end I turned left, the motion almost automatic after having been through this corridor so many times. I stepped through the door that led out of the corridor, walking back into the dull greyness that dominated the rest of New Home. A few seconds of walking later, it was right in front of me. The door to Asgore's throne room.

I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. I let my determination flow through me until it reached a crescendo, and then, I released it, the sudden burst of energy imprinting itself onto the timestream. Another save point. I hoped I didn't need it, but there was every chance I would.

[Well,] I said to Frisk, hoping my voice didn't sound too anxious. [It's time, I guess.]

Frisk raised an eyebrow. [Shouldn't you… you know…?] They gestured at me.

[Hmm?] I asked.

[I mean,] they said, [don't you think it'll be a problem to just… walk in there looking like that? Shouldn't you do that disguise thing?]

I shook my head. [No. Maybe if I fail this time and I have to try again, I will. But for now… Asgore should know the truth. I'm done hiding.]

For a moment, Frisk didn't say anything. [Yeah,] they said when they finally spoke. [I guess you're right.]

There was another moment of silence, and then, I let out a nervous breath. [Well… let's go.]

I stepped forward into the throne room.

The golden flowers crunched underneath my feet, producing a rustling that carried throughout the room. It sounded like something completely natural, something from the untamed wilderness. It was a sound that brought to mind a living, breathing environment – deer bounding through the forest, fish swimming through the lake. The polar opposite of anything else in the Underground… and a nice reminder of why the barrier had to go down.

Asgore stood with his back to me, his great big yellow mane cascading down the back of his head. His thick purple cape hung from his shoulders, and I knew it'd be wrapped around his body. He looked, at first glance, like the picture of regality – a stoic king who would rule his domain with an iron fist and thus lead it to an age of greatness.

Of course, anyone who actually thought that was what he was didn't know Asgore very well. I combed through my memories of him, of how I knew him back when I was alive, and smiled. He was a gentle, good person, and he was hardly serious at all except when he absolutely needed to be. If he had one flaw, it'd be being too kindhearted for his own good.

I smiled even wider at that thought.

The king was humming a tune quietly and watering the flowers as I came in. He heard my feet on the flowers, and his head twitched to the side. "Oh? Is someone there?" he asked. "Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers."

He returned to his task, and I couldn't help but smile at that, too. The legendary King of Monsters, quietly watering some flowers. That basically told one all they needed to know about Asgore, and I liked that. After all the running around and saving the world I'd done recently, it was nice to be reminded of the simpler things in life. And sometimes, those simple things really could provide that sort of quiet, relaxing experience that nothing else could replace.

"Here we are!" he muttered to himself, lowering the watering can. That done, he turned towards me, cape swishing along behind him.

"Howdy!" he said. "How can I…" And then his eyes settled on me, and he froze.

For a few painfully long moments, we both stood there, silent. Then, I cleared my throat. "Hey," I said, my voice a bit quiet.

He stepped closer to me. "C…" He looked down at me gingerly, like he was afraid that I was just an illusion that might fade if he looked too closely at it. "Chara?"

I nodded. "It's me. Hi, Asgore."

Asgore blinked a few times, and then looked down at me, a bit doubtfully.

I sighed, but I couldn't help but smile again. "Me and Asriel used to pull your ears all the time, all the way back then. Once, he even helped me come up with a scheme on how to sneak up on you."

Asgore's eyes flew wide. His mouth opened in shock, and he even recoiled a tiny bit. Then, he gently reached out a massive paw towards me. "It… it really is you," he said, his voice a bit dull from disbelief.

"So it is," I said, still smiling like an idiot.

"But…" He glanced aside for a moment. "How?"

My lips thinned. "Long story."

He looked straight at me again, and I could see tears in his eyes. "I see," he said, and his voice was a bit shaky. Slowly, as if he was afraid to even touch me, his paw settled on my shoulder.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around him. "I've missed you," I told him, happiness in my voice.

For a moment, he froze up in shock. And then, he knelt down, bringing his face level with mine, and hugged me in return.

Tears touched my face, and they weren't my own. Asgore may not have been like Toriel, caring and protective to a fault, and he may not have been like Papyrus, chatting to me like he physically couldn't be quiet – but he cared for me just as much as they did. I couldn't imagine what it was like to run the kingdom, what it was like to have to kill innocent humans for some promise he made in the heat of the moment years ago. He had to become strong, and that meant he wouldn't show his love for me in the same way other people would.

But he still considered me his child. He still missed me, and he was still unspeakably happy to see me again. Those tears showed me that more clearly than anything else could.

I didn't know if I'd ever become what I used to be again. I prayed I wouldn't, of course, but I couldn't be sure. But now, now more than anything, I desperately hoped that would never happen. Because after all this time Asgore had spent without me, after all the pain he'd endured, after he'd borne the burden he carried on his shoulders for years and years and years, I was a sudden ray of happiness in his life. And I couldn't deprive him of that. I owed him that much, at least.

This time, I didn't let go. I let him hug me as long as he liked. He deserved that much.

Finally, he rose up, his tears still staining my face. I looked up at him, still grinning. "Gods, I've missed you," I told him again.

"I… I have missed you too," he said through the tears that were still pouring down his face, "my child."

He swallowed nervously, and looked away. I looked up at him, the joy draining from my face.

I glanced down at the ground. "Yeah," I said, my voice tight. "There's still… that problem."

Asgore said nothing. Just looked down a little bit.

I knew, I just knew that we were both thinking about the same thing. He had to kill me – it was the only way he could get the last soul to break the Barrier, unless he wanted to wait for some other human to fall. Of course, according to Frisk, there was another way, but Asgore wouldn't know that. To him, killing me was the only way he could free monsterkind from this prison they've been confined to for centuries. And I knew that, in his eyes, he wouldn't have the right not to. He wouldn't have the right to break the promise he'd made, much less knowingly keep his people trapped when he could ensure their freedom.

But he couldn't kill me. I was his child. I was Chara. He'd spent years caring about me. He wouldn't be able to just decide to kill me and then actually do it. I was his ray of sunshine, his sudden hope in a world that, to him, must have grown old and weary and sad. He wouldn't be willing to just throw that away – and that was ignoring how much he'd grown to know me, how much he'd grown to truly consider me part of his family. It'd break him to kill me. It'd break his heart. And we both knew that.

And yet, of course, we both knew just as well that he couldn't not.

"My child," he said, his voice heavy, "you… know what they will want me to do."

I looked aside. My heart rose up into my throat.

I thought I could probably figure out some way to convince him to spare me. I could come up with some way to appeal to his emotions, to rob him of whatever willpower he had that could convince him to kill his own child. It wouldn't even be hard. Hell, even if I did nothing, I wasn't even close to certain he'd kill me. There was every chance he wouldn't be able to do it anyway. All I had to do was give him a little nudge in the right direction.

But if I did, I'd effectively be manipulating him. I could say it was for the greater good, that I had to do it to survive, that it was the only way to solve the situation nonviolently – but that didn't change the facts. If I did that, it'd just be emotional manipulation. Plain and simple. I wouldn't be convincing him of anything, and I wouldn't just be talking to him. I'd just be making sure he felt exactly what I wanted him to feel. It'd be a course of action my old self would've been proud to come up with, and even prouder to execute successfully. And that, really, was enough to tell me that it was grossly immoral. Yet even without that, the idea just seemed wrong. To intentionally manipulate my own adoptive father like that, treat him as nothing more than a puppet on a string… I couldn't do that. I just couldn't.

And besides, it felt wrong for another reason, too – I didn't want to be spared just because of who, specifically, I was. If it was anyone else standing face to face with Asgore now, he would kill them. He wouldn't like it, but he would kill them. To use my connection to him as a way to get out of it… it felt unfair. I knew it was stupid – I wouldn't be making anyone happy by letting myself die. But when six other human children, all of them much better people than me, had been slain… I couldn't imagine how they'd react if they knew that I was going to be let go just because Asgore had known me once. It'd be so utterly unjust. I'd be spared, and it wouldn't even be for a good reason – and I'd have to live with the knowledge that, unless we found a way to break the barrier (though, thankfully, Frisk seemed to know how we could do that), I'd just be offering up the next kid to fall as a sacrifice.

So, I didn't want to use his emotions to get him to spare me. I didn't want to use my identity to get him to spare me. And I didn't want to cause him the sort of anguish I knew he'd feel when he had to choose.

Then I'd take the choice out of his hands.

I closed my eyes and let my determination flow through me once more, imprinting itself on this particular point in time. I'd need the save point for what I was planning to do.

"Yeah," I said. "But first… can you just do something for me? Please?"

He looked at me again, tears still glistening in his eyes. "Anything."

I smiled nervously. "Okay. This is… weird, but humor me, alright?"

"Of course," he said, a smile growing on his face, though his eyes were still watery.

"Think of a phrase," I said. "Any phrase. Don't tell me what it is yet."

He nodded, and paused for a moment. "There we go," he said.

"Alright," I said, with a nod. "Now tell me the phrase."

Asgore blinked at me as if in surprise, which made sense. The way I was asking it didn't make a lot of sense. But I needed to do it this way. "It is _Flowers in the sunlight_."

I smiled at that. It was exactly the sort of thing he'd come up with. And, frankly… an excellent reminder of what I was doing all this for. "Thank you."

And then I closed my eyes, and wished, with all my determination, that I could go back.

The sudden strain on my mind was familiar, and yet incredibly sudden. After all the time I'd spent resetting over and over again, the sensation of it had more or less stopped registering for me. Now, I felt it clearly, like a sharp spike had been driven through my head. I barely managed to stop myself from gasping, more from surprise than actual pain.

I threw my determination against the flow of time. A few times, I'd tried to get a better understanding of how resets worked – I'd hoped it'd let me do something new with them, something special. But what little knowledge I gained had always merely hindered me when I actually tried to apply it. Every time I tried to visualize it in terms of timelines and imagine the exact effect my determination would have on them, it didn't work. Before, I'd never understood why. Now, I saw it clearly – it was because a reset, as much as it could be analyzed scientifically, didn't work because of science or magic. It worked on sheer will – and its power came entirely from one's heart. Trying to apply theory to it only resulted in muddling that raw strength, and that sort of dispassionate approach towards the process merely meant that one lost track of what was really important – the simple will to return, and the sheer, dogged stubbornness to refuse to ever give up until the universe gave you what you wanted.

Time shifted and parted behind me, cracking under the weight of my determination. I poured more and more of my will into the breach, opening it wider and wider – and finally, I felt a sudden, odd sensation, like a ripple going through my body, and I was sucked backwards through the flow of time.

I reappeared a few seconds ago, right before I'd asked Asgore to come up with a phrase. After all this time spent not resetting, it felt weird to so suddenly shift in time, and I shook off a wave of dizziness.

Once more, I looked at Asgore. All I had to do was exactly what I'd done before.

"Yeah," I said. "But first… can you just do something for me? Please?"

He looked at me again, tears still glistening in his eyes. "Anything."

I smiled nervously. "Okay. This is… weird, but humor me, alright?"

"Of course," he said, a smile growing on his face, though his eyes were still watery.

"Think of a phrase," I said. "Any phrase. Don't tell me what it is yet."

He nodded, and paused for a moment. "There we go," he said.

And that was where I broke off from the script.

I smiled again, but far from nervously this time. "It's _Flowers in the sunlight_ , isn't it?"

Asgore flinched and blinked at me a few times. "Why, yes," he said, wonder in his voice. "It is. How did you know?"

"Yeah… about that," I said. "I've got to tell you something."

"Yes?" he said.

"I've got a special power now," I told him. "I'm… a time traveler, I guess you could say. At least, that's what Sans insists on calling it. I can save at some point in time, and then just go back to it afterwards."

"And that is how you knew?" Asgore asked.

"Yep," I said. "I'd already had that conversation once before. I just had to repeat the thing you told me it was last time."

"That is…" Asgore paused for a moment. "Very interesting. How did you gain this power?"

"I'll tell you later, though I can't say I really get it myself," I said. "There's something else I need to tell you at the moment."

Asgore nodded. "I see. What is it?"

"See…" I took a deep breath. "I can use this power… well… at any time. Even, say, after I die."

I saw Asgore stare at me for a few seconds, a worried look in his eyes. And then, his eyes widened in realization. "You mean… I can't…?" he said, an excited tone in his voice.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. You can't kill me even if you wanted to."

Asgore looked at me for a few moments, and I could see the cogs turning in his mind. Then, his mouth broke out into a wide grin. "My child…" he said, his voice tinged with joy.

"Yeah," I smiled. "Nothing bad needs to happen. Okay? No one can blame you. We can all live together. Peacefully."

His knees buckled, like his legs were about to give out. He took a single, large step towards me, happiness written all over his face, and pulled me into another hug. I returned it, though this time, he only held it for a second or two before stepping back.

"There's a lot more I've got to tell you, really," I said. "But… that can wait."

He smiled, again, and suddenly, someone stepped through the door. I turned my head towards them, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh, thank goodness!" the person said.

My eyes widened in shock. "Tori?!"

Frisk smiled knowingly.

"I had thought he would attack you," Toriel confessed, walking forwards into the middle of the room. "I am… glad that has not happened."

Asgore blinked at her a few times. "T-Tori?"

Toriel's voice turned stern. "Do not _Tori_ me, Dreemurr!"

I blinked. There was definitely a story there.

"You pathetic whelp," she said.

I blinked again, then blinked a few more times, just to reassure myself I was really looking at Toriel.

"If you really wanted to free our kind, you could have gone through the barrier after you got ONE SOUL, taken six souls from the humans, then come back and freed everyone peacefully," she lectured him. "But instead, you made everyone live in despair because you would rather wait here, meekly hoping another human never comes."

Asgore stayed silent. I felt pretty bad for him. "Tori… you're right…" he finally said, which made me feel even worse. "I am a miserable creature… but, do you think we can at least be friends again?"

Toriel sighed. "NO, Asgore."

[Are you sure this isn't a doppelganger or something?] I asked Frisk, whispering on instinct despite the fact that doing so was absolutely unnecessary for mental communication.

[Yep,] they said. [I was pretty surprised the first time, too.]

"U-um…! H-hey!" another familiar voice said from the doorway, and I turned my head in that direction again.

"Alphys?!" I asked, even more incredulous.

"I-I don't really know what's happening here…" she stammered, "but… no one hurt each other, alright?"

"Uh… okay?" I said.

She looked nervously at Toriel. Toriel looked gently back at her. "Oh! Are you another friend? I am Toriel. Hello!"

Alphys looked between Asgore and Toriel for a moment, nervously, and then dashed forwards into the room.

And before I could even register that, someone else arrived. "hey guys… what's up?"

I blinked at Sans, standing in the doorway. [This is incredibly overwhelming,] I told Frisk.

They shrugged.

Toriel seemed to recognize him. "That voice…!" She paused for a moment. "Hello, I think we may… know each other?"

I raised my eyebrows. [Yeah,] Frisk said. [Apparently Sans told her jokes through the door to the Ruins.]

[Neat,] I smiled.

"oh hey," Sans said. "i recognize your voice, too."

I held up a hand, because frankly, I was starting to get a headache. "Wait, wait, wait. Why are all you guys even here? I mean, I'm not complaining, but…"

Toriel smiled. "Oh! Well, I told Sans to call everyone here."

"Why?" I asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Well…" She paused for a moment, and looked away. "I know this will sound silly, but… I got some advice from a little flower."

I blinked. It took me a moment to register that.

And then, I froze. All the conversations around me became a blur, a backdrop to my thoughts. Because suddenly, I knew what would happen at any moment now.

Someone asked me something, and I didn't really hear it. I blinked, shook my head, and turned towards Sans. "What is it?"

"well," he said, "i was just-"

And then, before anyone could react, a vine shot out of the wall, wrapping itself around all the monsters present. I staggered away from it as it passed in front of me, and it went past, burying itself in the far wall.

The floor rumbled, and Asriel, in his flower form, popped out.

"Well, well, well," he said, a manic grin on his face. "It's been a while, Chara."


	34. Reunion

I knew it was coming, but I still froze up, staring at him. "A-" I started, and then thought better of it. Revealing his identity here wouldn't do anything but hurt everyone. "Whatever it is you're called."

"Flowey," he said, the grin still on his face. "Did you really forget something that simple? I'm hurt, Chara."

I gritted my teeth, trying to figure out what to say next. There were a lot of things I still had to talk to him about. But preferably, those conversations would be a bit more private. And besides, I had no clue where I'd start on that, anyway. So instead, I said what was most important right at the moment. "Let them go."

He put a leaf up to his chin in mock contemplation. "Hmm…. no."

Well, I wasn't exactly sure what I'd been expecting from him. But I had my ways of being persuasive. I put a hand into my pocket meaningfully and said, "You know what I can do." I didn't like it. I didn't like the idea of using my past, and what I'd done to him in the past, as a weapon against him. True, perhaps he wasn't exactly a good person – at the moment, anyway – but I still felt guilty about what I'd done to him at the end of all my previous runs, at least until he'd started just hiding away. I didn't want to bring that up again, and I especially didn't want to use that to my advantage. It felt so wrong.

But I had to make sure he wouldn't hurt my friends. One way or another.

And yet, Flowey just smirked. "Oh, you idiot," he said. "While you guys were having your little pow-wow… I took the human souls!"

My eyes widened in surprise, and my breath caught in my throat. If he had all of the souls, he'd have the power to reset – and that meant I wouldn't. Just as a test, I reached for my determination, willing it to touch the timeline. But though I still felt the determination inside me, burning hot and furious, I couldn't find the timestream, flowing around me. It was like something was hiding it from me.

Yeah. He definitely had the souls. And that definitely meant I wasn't able to reset anymore.

God damn it.

"Oh, come on," I said. "I literally regained the power to reset an hour ago or so! Did you really have to take it again?!"

Flowey grinned. "What? Are you upset? Are you mad you can't save your little friends here? Or are you just scared about your own hide?

"Well, it doesn't matter. Because you know what?" he said, arrogantly. "Now, not only are those under my power… but all of your FRIENDS' souls are gonna be mine, too!"

My vision sunk down to a tunnel. He was going to kill my friends. He was going to kill my friends, and without my resets, I wouldn't be able to bring them back. I had to stop him. Nothing else mattered.

I lunged forward, drawing my knife as I went, and it cut a smooth arc through the air. Flowey sank under the floor, reappearing a few meters away and to the left. I turned towards him and charged again, but a sound came from behind me and I turned my head. A vine shot out of the floor towards my leg, but I raised that leg up as far as I could and the vine sailed harmlessly underneath. Another vine shot towards my arm, and I moved that arm out of the way, but I was off balance now. A third vine shot at my other leg, and I barely managed to awkwardly hop away.

And then, there was a rumbling from underneath me, and I leapt to the side. But before I landed, several vines erupted from the floor, twisting towards me like grasping tentacles. They wrapped around my leg first, pulling me back to where they were coming out from, digging deep wounds in my flesh. I ended up in a forest of them, lying on my face as they wrapped around me, more and more thorns digging into my skin, holding me down. It hurt, it hurt like hell, but next to what I'd already felt, it was more or less nothing. What was worse was the sudden despair. I knew I couldn't get free, not quickly enough – and that gave him more than enough time to do whatever he wanted with my friends.

And I couldn't do a thing to stop it.

"You know what, Chara?" Flowey asked. "At the start of all this, I just wanted to keep you down here. You were the only person who was any fun anymore. All I wanted was for you to be here, with me. I just wanted someone who would understand me.

"But you know what? After all you've done… after what you've done to ME… I think I've changed my mind." He grinned an impossibly wide grin. "Now? Now I want you to SUFFER."

I couldn't see much, not with my head held down as it was. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw a ring of little white pellets surround me. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

The first time Frisk had run into Flowey, I was still actually paying attention – and that meant I'd felt it when the _friendliness pellets_ , as he called them, hit them. The sensation when they hit me this time couldn't be mistaken for anything else. It felt like they were burning tunnels through my flesh that ran all the way through my body. I knew they weren't actually doing that, of course, but it sure as hell felt like it. I managed not to scream, but just barely.

I heard a sound, and caught another movement out of the corner of my eye. More pellets. My heart sank, and I braced myself again. It hurt just as much this time, and I let out a small squeal of pain.

Then it happened once more. But this time, I could swear Flowey was making them just a little bit slower, dragging out the pain just a bit more. I couldn't bear it. I screamed, if only for a moment.

Another ring. This one approached painfully slowly. He was savoring the moment, and making sure to build up the anticipation as much as he could. It was working. Every moment I had to wait, I dreaded the inevitable feeling of them carving through me more and more.

They approached. I swallowed.

And then, fire danced around me, burning the pellets to cinders. My eyes opened wide from shock.

"What?" Flowey asked.

"Do not be afraid, my child," Toriel's gentle voice said from above me. "No matter what happens, we will always be there to protect you!"

I smiled. I couldn't help it. Knowing that she, at least, would always look out for me was a reassuring thought, and I needed whatever reassurances I could get at the moment.

More pellets approached, this time from either side instead of in a ring, and my heart lurched again. But two walls of bones popped out of the floor, deflecting them.

"huh?" Sans said, as if suddenly waking up from sleep. "you haven't beaten this guy yet? come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you."

I blinked in surprise. Sans, too? A sudden hope fluttered in my heart, a hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd stopped thinking of me as the mass murderer I was before.

Two more walls of pellets approached, but this time, I didn't feel all that scared. I knew – I just knew – that my friends would help me. That they wouldn't let him hurt me.

Perhaps it was a stupid thought. Perhaps I shouldn't have been relying on them so heavily. There was every chance that wouldn't be how it happened, of course. It was entirely possible I'd die here.

But… sometimes… I'd just have to trust them. And if I couldn't, what business did I have calling them my friends in the first place?

Another wall of fire, this one more powerful than the last, rose up to the right of me, incinerating the pellets there. To my left, a bolt of lightning shot through the air, the accompanying thunder so loud I flinched and got myself a few extra cuts from the vines. It vaporized Flowey's pellets.

"Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him…" Alphys said, uncertainly, "b-but… somehow, I know you can do it!" I narrowed my eyes. Alphys might have been many things, but _eloquent_ or _tactful_ was clearly still not one of them.

"Chara…" Asgore said, like he was trying not to choke, "I… believe in you, too. My child… please, for all our sakes, stay determined."

That hit me hard. I wasn't just fighting for my own life anymore, after all, or even for the lives of my friends, though that was no small stake. I was fighting for Asgore – to preserve that one, little, shred of happiness that had suddenly come into his life. If I gave him that sort of hope, that sort of joy, only to die here… I didn't even want to think about it.

I felt my determination coursing through me, willing my body to action. I had to do something. I couldn't just lie here uselessly. Whatever it took, I had to take action.

I pushed outwards at the vines.

A hiss of pain tore itself from my throat as thorns dug deeper and deeper into my skin. But Flowey, while not as weak as a normal monster, still only had the physical body of a flower. His vines might've been tough, but not too tough for me to break them.

As the first few vines tore, more shot at my arms, thorns ripping into them with the savagery of a predator's fangs. But I'd managed to get my arms at least somewhat free, and I grabbed at the vines around my torso and tore those away from my body too, ignoring the feeling of the spikes stabbing at my hand. When I was free enough, I fumbled my knife out of my pocket and cut around me, cutting the remaining vines into pieces, and watched their remains slump down onto me and on the floor. That was satisfying.

I stood up, just as some more monsters came into the room. And more, and more. I took a look at the crowd. All of them were ones I had encountered – and mostly, I'd encountered them back when I was still only pretending to be a good person. Back then, I hadn't really meant any of the things I said, though those things may have sounded sweet enough. My heart sank. By all rights, those monsters should've hated me. I'd effectively tricked them, after all. They had every right to dislike me after that.

But instead, they cheered me on, surrounding Flowey, and an odd, warm feeling grew in my heart. Even if I hadn't really meant it… I'd still made their days just a little bit better. I'd made their lives just a little bit better. And they hadn't forgotten me.

"Urrrgh… NO!" Flowey shouted. "Unbelievable! This can't be happening…! You… YOU…!"

I grinned. Maybe it was cliché, but… this was the true meaning of friendship. To have people to support you, whatever happened. To have people to pick you up whenever you were down. This whole adventure had been one big mess, from start to end, and for most of it, I'd just been going from event to event as they happened, not really thinking about the big picture – but that didn't change the fact that, in my own way, I'd touched the lives of people. Maybe not in the best way, and maybe I hadn't really meant to. But still… there were people out there whose lives were just a little bit better for my existence.

And that made me feel… odd. Like maybe, I wasn't such a bad person after all.

It didn't matter what Flowey did now. He was outnumbered, hopelessly – and now, I knew beyond all doubt that all these monsters would stand by me to the end. They would help me, whatever happened, and-

The rational part of my brain caught up with the emotional part. I realized that Flowey's panicking hadn't sounded even close to genuine.

I licked my lips nervously, the wind taken from my sails in an instant. Anxiously, I watched Flowey, waiting for his next move.

"I can't believe you're all so STUPID."

He grinned. "ALL OF YOUR SOULS ARE MINE!"

And I had just enough time to think _NO!_ before the world went white.

…

I woke up in darkness.

No – not in darkness. It wasn't dark. It was simply that there was nothing to see. The place around me was a pitch-black void, with no features to speak of.

I collected my jumbled memories. Flowey had shown up, and then…

My eyes went wide. The monsters. Sans. Toriel. Asgore. Alphys. Flowey had their souls.

The fear that I'd never see them again overtook me, and suddenly, I felt like throwing up. I didn't want all of this to be for nothing. I didn't want to spend all this time befriending those people, spend all this time learning how to be a good person, only for it all to be ripped away from me. Even if I somehow won this… I didn't want to be the only person left in the Underground, with nothing to keep me company. I didn't want that… that emptiness.

I didn't want to be alone. God, I didn't want to be alone.

Desperately, my body trembling, I reached for my determination. _Please, to whatever gods may be out there,_ I silently prayed, _I can't say I've ever believed in you… but if you're good, if you want what's best, please… please, let me go back._

But nothing happened.

Flowey had the power to reset. Flowey had my friends' souls. Flowey had the human souls. Flowey probably had every single soul in the whole Underground. Flowey held all the cards, and I didn't have any countermove.

It was an awful feeling. Even when I'd been facing Par and his allies, there was still hope. Back then, I could still win. I knew it would be tough, I knew I risked death every time I tried to act against them – but at least I could act against them. And when I did act against them, it had consequences. I was able to actually stop their plans, to prevent the suffering that I knew they would cause.

But now? There wasn't a thing I could do. I could try and fight Flowey all I liked, but he had six human souls. I knew how powerful a monster with just one would be – trying to fight one with six would be worse than hopeless. It'd barely even be a fight. And that wasn't even considering the fact that he had all the monster souls, too.

And if I somehow won, that wouldn't do anything, either. He had the resets, after all. He could try again and again and again. At least I'd remember the timelines – or I thought I would, anyway – and I could try and vary my approaches to throw him off, but even then, it'd just be a matter of time. He only had to win once, after all.

And trying to talk to him? He was emotionless. And besides, he hated me. That'd get me nowhere. He'd won, and that was all there was to say about it.

It was a horrible thought. Flowey had won. It was over. And there was nothing I could do anymore.

[C-Chara?] Frisk asked, nervously. They must've noticed my face.

[It's over,] I whispered. [Isn't it?]

[D-don't panic,] they said. [I know it seems like you're doomed, but… don't panic.]

[What about my friends, Frisk?] I asked. [He's got their souls. I don't want to be alone.]

[You don't have to be!] they said, frantically. [You can still get them back. He can still return the souls.]

[Yeah,] I said, bitterly, my voice thick with sarcasm. [Sounds like the sort of thing he'd do, doesn't it?]

I looked at Frisk. They looked apprehensive, too. [Look, just…] They paused for a moment. [Just… try talking to him. Okay?]

I gazed outwards into the void, sadly.

[It'll work,] Frisk promised. [I've done this before, you know.]

I blinked and turned towards them. [You have?]

[Yeah,] they said. [And… I believe in you. I think you can do it, too.]

[Mmm…] I muttered noncommittally, [I don't know. I mean… you heard him. He just wants me to suffer, now.]

Frisk smiled. [Just… believe in yourself. Okay?]

I couldn't. I knew I couldn't. It was hopeless.

But I didn't want to show that. Not in front of Frisk. So, I just nodded and said, [Okay.]

"Behind you," an all too familiar voice said.

My eyes opened wide. I turned around, and behind me, with his back to me, stood a small goat monster, wearing the same sort of sweater I was.

I choked up, and a torrent of emotions and memories and recollections and regrets washed through me. Asriel. It was Asriel. I'd known that, of course, but to actually see him, standing there in front of me…

"You know, I was so tired of being a flower," he mused. He turned around, looking at me with a smile on his face. "Howdy, Chara! It's me, your best friend."

 _You're not my best friend,_ I tried to say. _Not any more._ But I couldn't. I could've said that to Flowey, but I couldn't bear to say it to Asriel.

And then, he changed. The small child standing in front of me was gone. Now, Asriel towered over me, easily standing at Asgore's height. A robe similar to Toriel's was wrapped around his body, and there were some sort of armored pads on his shoulders. A heart locket, just like my own, was wrapped around his neck, and he was floating in midair, his feet hanging downwards.

"Asriel Dreemurr," he said, introducing himself. As if I didn't know.

I took a deep breath, placed a single hand over my own heart locket, and closed my eyes for just a moment. And then I settled back into my usual stance, opened my eyes, and looked at Asriel.

One way or another, it all ended here.

He didn't even bother moving. Fire just came into existence in front of him and flew at me. I stepped out of its curly path and looked at him suspiciously. That had been way too easy.

And then, he calmly brought a single hand up and snapped his fingers. The endless void we were in exploded into light, all the colors of the rainbow dancing around me. I looked around, surprised, only to catch sight of Asriel floating around, trailing multicolored afterimages behind him. He flew in rings around me, as if mocking me. Letting me know just how cornered I was.

Finally, he stopped in front of me and grinned. I forced myself to concentrate on the battle. Nothing else mattered.

And then, a voice sounded in my head. And this time, it wasn't Frisk's. [Greetings,] the voice said.

I blinked. That voice was… familiar. [Gaster,] I hissed. [How are you doing this?]

[I have a piece of your soul,] Gaster said. [and that piece has a connection to the whole. So-]

[Never mind,] I said. [Get out of my head.]

[Trust me, I do not want to talk to you either,] he said. [But I think we can both agree that in such a situation, it would be stupid to throw away any advantages.]

For a moment, I tried to come up with a retort, but he had a point. I sighed and said [Alright. Fine. So, can you help or what?]

[The Prince absorbed my soul alongside everyone else's,] Gaster said. [Fortunately, it seems he isn't aware of the piece of your soul inside mine. Thanks to that, I have been able to keep my mind my own even now.

[That said, the rest have not been so lucky,] he said. [I can see the other souls he's absorbed right now, and while they still retain consciousness, it seems their mental state has been significantly affected, and for the worse. It will take some work to restore them to normal.]

[Dammit,] I hissed. [How do I do that?]

[You, Dreemurr, do not,] Gaster told me. [Your unique connection with Asriel may be the only hope of stopping him, and it would be best if you concentrated entirely on that. Allow me to worry about the other souls.]

[You?] I asked him. [Look, something tells me you'll have to talk to the souls if you want to get them back, and I'll be honest: you're about as socially adept as a hungry wolf.]

[Perhaps,] Gaster said, and I could hear a smirk in his voice. [But remember that I have been watching all of you for quite a while, now, before you reassembled my soul. I am quite certain I will know exactly how to bring them back.]

[Oh, that's it, is it?] I spat. [Just tell them what they want to hear? Cause manipulating them is the easiest way, right?]

[Do you have any other suggestions?] he asked, coldly.

That shut me up. […No,] I finally admitted, after a few moments of trying to think of a response.

[Then leave me to my work, and stop Asriel.]

[Okay,] I said, though I still didn't like it.

I snapped back to reality just in time to see Asriel raise his arms and fade away like a ghost. I looked around frantically and saw several stars coming down towards me. They were slow and easy to dodge compared to what I'd already encountered, and I fairly easily managed to avoid getting hit. But as they struck the ground, they exploded into more small stars, and those spread out in a ring. I frantically looked around for a moment, but fortunately, it still wasn't too hard to find a safe spot. The smaller stars missed me too.

I raised an eyebrow. That had been... rather easy, actually. Was Asriel toying with me? Or was there something I still didn't see?

Asriel reappeared in front of me, and I took the chance. "Asriel, listen to me!" I shouted.

"Listen to you, Chara?" he asked. "After you killed me over… and over… and over? Mmm… No."

"I'm sorry!" I said.

He grinned. "Of course you are. Now that I'm the one with all the power, you're sorry. How… predictable."

Once more, he faded, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw something underneath me. I looked down and saw a glowing, flashing square with an exclamation point inside it right underneath my feet, and when I looked around, I saw more and more of the squares as far as the eye could see, in a checkerboard pattern throughout the endlessness. I quickly stepped to the side, and a bolt of lightning cut through the space where I'd just been standing, more bolts coming down onto every single square I could see from here. The sudden noise of thunder that came from every direction made me yelp and cover my ears, but it was still deafening.

Before I could even recover from that, more and more squares appeared – one in every single place where there wasn't one before. I leapt forwards, and just as I landed, there was a blinding flash as the bolts came down, and a moment later the thunder reached my ears. I stumbled backwards from the sudden sensory overload, and just barely managed to avoid going right into the path of the deadly energy.

Again, the squares appeared, though they were bigger this time. I ran out of the way, closed my eyes, and covered my ears, but it wasn't enough. Thankfully, I managed to avoid actually stumbling away this time, but it left one hell of a ringing in my ears.

And again. I could barely even see, but I stumbled out of the way anyway.

And again. I frantically staggered away as fast as I could, though my head was pounding. I tripped over my own feet and started to fall, but thankfully, I managed to collapse outside the squares. My head was closer to the invisible floor this time, so when the bolts came down, the sound almost felt like someone had smashed my head with a hammer.

I blearily looked up. Asriel reappeared, and I managed to stumble to my feet.

"Look," I said, thought I could barely hear myself. "I know you're mad at me. You have the right to be. But at least don't involve anyone else in this!"

"Really?" he asked, smiling once again. "You weren't just faking it? You really care about them, do you? Good."

His smile grew wider. "That gives me so many ideas."

Two swords appeared in his hands, and he lunged at me. His technique was sloppy, though, and his first slice was far too telegraphed to hit anything with half a brain. I stepped back, dodged away from the next attack, and twisted my body as he tried to stab at me. Instinctively, I reached for my knife, but I wasn't here to hurt him. I walked backwards away from him, trying to put as much distance between us as I could. He leapt at me, and I actually chuckled, it was that poor of a move. I jumped backwards as his swords cut the air in front of my face in an X shape, and I couldn't help but note that were I actually planning to fight him, he would've been giving me an excellent opening. He even stumbled as he landed.

I smiled. Now that I thought about it, if he had 6 human souls and all the monster ones, it'd probably take quite a bit to actually do any damage to him. So, playfully, I stepped forwards and gave him a quick kick to the knee.

He flinched backwards for a moment, as if he couldn't believe what was happening, and then stared at me with hate in his eyes. "Word of advice," I told him. "Don't try to fight me with a bladed weapon. Just don't."

His swords disappeared. "You…" he said, his voice seething.

"You're not a god," I said. "You're not better than everyone else. I'm sorry, but… you aren't."

He roared and vanished once again, reappearing a good distance away from me. An enormous blaster materialized in his hands, and he pointed it at me. Little white pellets started coming out of the barrel in a spread that was vaguely aimed in my direction.

I ran to the side in a steady pace, keeping a careful eye on him as I did. He could just shift his aim to a bit in front of me, and if I wasn't paying complete attention when he did, I'd just run right into the bullets.

But he never did. All I had to do was run to the side, keeping the right speed, and I could easily get away from his bullets. Finally, he spun the gun around and it began what looked like some charging process. I dived out of the way, and a rainbow beam shot through the space where I'd just been.

And that was when it struck me. For all his power, he lacked technique. He didn't really know how to fight. All he was doing was slinging his magic around and not really paying much attention to how he was doing it. And that meant that just maybe, it wasn't as hopeless as I'd thought.

I got to my feet and looked at him. But there was nothing I could immediately think of to say that wouldn't just make things worse, so I just waited for him to do something.

"You know," he said, "at first, I just wanted you to see things my way. The first few times you killed me, I just wanted you to stop, to see that I could help you."

He vanished suddenly, and appeared right in front of me, swinging a punch at my face. I stepped back, and his fist struck nothing but air. "But you didn't, did you?" he asked. "No. You just kept doing it. Again. And again. And again."

Asriel rushed at me, his fist wound back for another punch. I stepped to the side, letting it pass me by. "So now, I've changed my mind," he said. He vanished, and reappeared far from me, floating further up than before. "I've decided… that it's time you see what it's like when the tables are turned!"

He thrust a finger at me, and before anything else happened, I already knew more or less what that meant. I dove to the side just as a bolt of rainbow lightning cut through where I just was. Asriel roared and flew towards me, swords once again in hand. He slashed at me, but I leapt away. Instead of advancing, though, he flew above me. I turned my head upwards to track his movements, and as he tried to come down and impale me, I leapt out of the way. Instead of hitting me, the blades of his swords got stuck in the invisible floor. For a few moments, he tried to get them out, then just growled again and made the swords disappear.

[Chara, I don't know what you're doing,] Gaster calmly said from inside my head, [but it is not working. It is doing the exact opposite, in fact.]

I blinked. Damn it. I'd gotten caught up in the fact that I could dodge his attacks, and I'd started to revel in that triumph. Now, I suddenly realized that, of course, that would just make him angrier.

I forced myself to calm down. I wasn't going to get skewered on purpose or anything – but taunting him like this would do everything but help me. I needed to change tactics. I needed to calm him down, not get him more agitated.

"Look, Asriel," I started, and he looked up at me, rage in his eyes. I wasn't quite sure what to say, but he just kept staring at me for a few moments, and that gave me some time to come up with something. An idea struck me, and I suddenly realized that talking to him might not have been as futile as I'd thought. "I remember you told me that you couldn't feel any emotions in your flower form. But now that you've got some souls inside you, you should be able to, right?"

Asriel's expression changed in an instant. His rage fled in an instant, and his eyes grew wide in a sudden curiosity that was almost… cute, even with his current form. For a moment, he hesitated, and then, I could just barely see his eyes trembled.

Then, his face turned hard again. "Yes," he said. "So what? They'll just hinder me, now. I'm not like I was before, you know. I've realized how much better it is to be without feelings."

That drew a sudden rage from me, and I wanted to snap at him for that, to tell him that he was wrong. But that wouldn't help. And yet, what would?

An idea came to me. It seemed overly simple, but… maybe…

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Once more, he paused for a moment. For just an instant, I saw him stop suppressing his emotions, let them in for the briefest fraction of a second. There was something in his face, something shocked and sad and hurt, and then, a moment later, it was gone. "Yes, I'm sure!" he yelled. "What sort of question is that?!"

He thrust his hand forward, and I leapt away on instinct. Another bolt of multicolored lightning came from the sky, striking the floor of the void. But there was only one, this time.

"Do you remember how it was back when you were alive?" I asked.

Asriel blinked.

His mouth fell open, and he blinked a few more times, as if trying to clear away tears. He turned towards me, once again. "Back then," he said, "you hadn't killed me half a dozen times." There was bitterness in his voice – but not that much anger. That was progress… though it still stung to hear him say that. It was true, but…

I nodded. "And hate me for that if you will," I said. "But… please… do you at least remember Toriel? Asgore?"

For just a moment, there was no reaction. And then, he froze, staring out into the nothingness. "I… I can't let them go," he muttered, quietly, to no one, or perhaps to himself. "What would they… what would they think?"

"They'd forgive you," I said, and Asriel turned to me. And I saw his eyes.

Those were eyes I recognized. They were the eyes he'd sometimes gotten when I or Toriel or Asgore caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to, or when he realized that I'd seen him do something embarrassing or that he'd accidentally told me some secret he didn't want to tell me.

They were eyes I used to see all those years ago. They were Asriel's eyes. My Asriel's eyes.

Not this Asriel's eyes. Not the eyes of the Asriel who'd taken all of my friends' souls and was now trying to kill me. No. They were my brother's eyes.

Something rose up from deep within me, and I just barely managed to stop tears from coming to my eyes. Maybe I should've let them flow.

"Y-you heard that?!" he asked. And it was my Asriel's voice. It was my brother's voice.

"Y-yeah," I said, struggling to talk past the lump in my throat. "I heard you… I heard you alright. You big dumb oaf." I hadn't even noticed the massive smile growing on my face until I'd finished that sentence.

"C-Chara!" he said, scandalized.

"They'd forgive you," I said. "You know they would.

"…They forgave me, after all."

He blinked at me. "They did?"

"Yeah," I said. "You didn't know? I told my friends what I'd done. Well… most of them."

"Why?!" he yelled.

"Because… because I'm sorry about it," I said. "I'm sorry, Asriel. I'm sorry for killing all of them. And I'm sorry about what I did to you, too, Azzy."

"What? You're sorry about killing me over and over?" he asked.

"No," I said. "Well… yes. But I'm not just sorry about that. I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry about… about how I treated you."

He blinked at me.

"When I hatched that plan, the one to free us all," I said, "you… didn't want to go along with it, did you?"

He said nothing. But I could see something in his eyes that told me I was right.

"But I forced you to go along with it anyway," I said. "And… and I know that was horrible of me, now. I can't imagine how you must've felt, and I know I can never make up for it – not when none of this would even be happening if I hadn't done that. But… for whatever it's worth…" I reached out a hand to him. "I'm so, so sorry."

My brother looked at me. He smiled, just a tiny little smile. "You know, you were the one bawling like a baby at the end of that," he reminded me. "When we were… you know…"

I smiled up at him, too. "Yeah. That I was."

He snorted.

"I mean, to be fair," I said, "I was dying at the time."

He chuckled.

I started walking towards him. "Hey, Asriel," I said. "Remember how we'd use to sneak up on Asgore and Toriel and pull their ears? I thought it was silly when you first started doing it, you know. But damn if it wasn't fun." I smiled. "You even helped me figure out a plan, once. Remember that?"

Asriel didn't look at me. He was just staring out into the nothingness, avoiding eye contact with me. But there was a warm, genuine smile on his face.

I stopped in front of him, and couldn't help but notice that he'd started floating quite a bit lower down than before. "Please, little… big…" I raised an eyebrow. "Are you my little or big brother again? I can't quite remember."

He chuckled. "I mean, like this, I'm definitely the big brother."

And I couldn't help it. I laughed.

Finally, Asriel turned towards me, the smile still on his face. I looked at him. "Yeah, you are," I said. "So please. You're the big brother – you're the smart one, here. Do the right thing."

He looked to the side. "I… I… I can't."

I looked at him, tears at the corners of my eyes, and he looked at me. And something in his face changed.

He smiled, wearily. "Oh, okay," he said, like I'd been pestering him about it all day.

And then, the rainbow colors were gone, and it was just the black void again. And in front of me stood my brother.

He wasn't in his powered-up form anymore. He was just the little goat kid in a green-and-yellow sweater again.

I grinned. A lot of things had happened between us. We'd both hurt each other, badly.

But he was still Asriel and I was still Chara. And we were still brothers.

I hugged him, and he hugged me in return. And we both laughed, good, honest laughs.

After a few seconds, he let go, and then I did too. "I'm… sorry, too," he said.

"It's okay," I said. "Just let them go, and we can forget this ever happened. We can be…" I smiled even wider. "We can be brothers again."

"Yeah," he nodded. "But first… please, just… let me do one more thing. Let me do something good, for once."

"Of course," I said.

He smiled. "Chara… you remember what our textbooks said about the barrier, right? I mean, how it could be broken?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "You need seven human souls."

Realization struck. My eyes slowly grew wide. "…And all the monster souls in the Underground are the equivalent of one human soul."

"Yep," Asriel grinned. "I can… I can free everyone. I can free us all."

For a moment, there was nothing I could say. And then, I laid a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Asriel."

He just smiled and nodded, and closed his eyes. Slowly, he started floating into the air once more, and I took my hand off him. The souls appeared, rotating around him in a circle, more and more of them…

The moment it happened, I felt it. I felt the sudden surge of power, the sudden… change.

The barrier was destroyed.

Asriel came back down to the ground. I stared at him, my eyes wide, still processing the immensity of what had just happened.

"Chara… I have to go now," he said. "Without the power of everyone's souls, I can't keep maintaining this form. In a little while, I'll turn back into a flower."

"Oh," I said, sadly, my mind still reeling. I… Frankly, I'd suspected it'd work like that. But, if only for a moment, I'd let myself hope.

It seemed that was for nothing, then.

"I'll stop being _myself_ ," he said. "I'll stop being able to feel love again. So… Chara. It's best if you just forget about me, OK? Just go be with the people you love."

"…Nah, Asriel," I said. "I'll never forget you." And I stepped closer and, once more, I hugged him.

"At least we got to spend a bit more time together."

After a few moments, he hugged me back.

"Ha… ha…" he laughed, shakily. "I don't want to let go…"

"Me neither," I said.

We let go after a while, of course. But… we let it last. Maybe it was still just a few moments, but… I'd remember those few moments. And I thought that whatever Asriel eventually became… he'd remember them, too.

"Chara… You're… You're going to do a great job, OK?" he said. "No matter what you do. Everyone will be there for you, okay?"

I nodded. "I'll remember that."

For a few moments, we stayed silent. And then, he looked away. "Well… my time's running out. Goodbye."

He walked away. But after a few steps, he turned back to me. "By the way…"

I nodded. "Don't worry. I'll take care of Mom and Dad."

He smiled. "Thanks."

And he walked away into the endless void. And I'd probably never see him again.

But at least I'd gotten to see him again. That was more than I'd ever thought I'd get.

I reached up and wiped a few tears off my face.

…

When I woke up, I was back in the Throne Room. I was surrounded by the monsters, and they all had their souls back. They were all alright again. It was like it had all been just a bad dream.

Or… perhaps, not so bad.

I smiled. And because I couldn't help it, I cried too, and ran into Toriel's arms.

[I feel it would be an injustice to neglect to remind you,] Gaster said from within my head, [that Par is still out there.]

I blinked, all the thoughts suddenly stricken from my head. I froze for a few moments, and quietly seethed at Gaster. [Thank you for ruining the moment,] I said.

[Oh, you're very welcome.]


	35. Decision

I sat, alone, in Papyrus' room, my mind full of dreary thoughts. Everyone else was out there, overjoyed, preparing to finally leave the Underground after centuries of confinement. On a logical level, of course, I understood their joy, but… I couldn't share in it myself.

My thoughts kept coming back to Par, and to what Gaster had said. He'd been right, of course – Par was still out there. I'd thought him no longer a threat, now that I had my resets back, but… the barrier was now broken. And that changed things. With the barrier gone, Par could go out onto the Surface – and what then? The Surface was massive. I wouldn't be able to keep track of him – he could just fly off somewhere and I'd never see him again. And from there, he could cause as much mayhem as he liked, and I wouldn't even know about it.

Or, he could always just kill a few people. Then, he'd be able to get their souls – he'd have easy access to humans up there, after all – and if he got any more than one, he'd more than likely get the power to reset. If that happened, I'd be powerless once more – only now, not only would I be powerless, he'd have control over the timeline, too. With that sort of power… I dreaded to even imagine what he'd do. It would be horrifying.

I needed to stop him, I knew. I needed to stop him now, before he could act. If I gave him a chance to realize what sort of opportunity he held in his hands, if I gave him a chance to take advantage of it, there wouldn't be a thing I could do. Asriel was a fluke – there was no way I'd be able to defeat that sort of opponent again. And Par wouldn't be that sort of opponent. He'd be able to get far more than seven human souls, after all.

Again, it was clear. I needed to make sure he never got that chance. But… how?

In the first place, it wasn't like even finding Par would be easy. Hell, that in and of itself had every possibility to be just about impossible. The barrier was broken now, and since he could fly, that meant he could leave through the hole in the Ruins – where there would be no one to intercept him. From there, he could go absolutely anywhere, and no one would have a hope of finding him.

And if I did find him? Then what? I wasn't exactly certain on how I'd stop him. Would I have to kill him? I'd prefer not to, but I might not have any other choice. He was the brains behind the operation, after all, and that meant he wasn't just alright with all the horrible things they'd done – he'd been actively making sure they were done. What could I say to that sort of person? Hell, he didn't even have the excuse of being emotionless like Asriel had been. He was perfectly aware of what effect his actions had, and he kept on doing them anyway. How could I talk to someone like that? Especially when I knew so little about him – I didn't know a single thing I could use to try and reach out to him.

But if I couldn't talk to him, that meant I'd have to kill him. And even besides the moral issues, that wasn't going to be easy by any means, either. The last few times I'd fought him, he'd been powerful as hell, and I somehow doubted he'd gotten weaker since then. And more than that, he'd managed to casually shrug off multiple hits from my knife – back during the previous timeline, when my power was at its peak. I didn't know exactly how that worked, not really, but I knew that thanks to the fact that I'd barely killed anyone this time, I'd be far less strong now. It was a more than fair trade, of course, but if I couldn't harm the bird even back when I was at full power… what hope did I have now?

I hissed. I couldn't talk to him. I couldn't kill him. And hell, I couldn't even find him. What in the world could I do? How could I stop him? I knew I had to – it wouldn't be too hyperbolic to say that the fate of the world rested on this. But I couldn't.

[Chara, maybe you shouldn't worry so much…] Frisk said to me.

[I shouldn't worry so much?] I asked. [Yes. There's just a homicidal, incredibly powerful bird running around, and I have no clue how the hell to stop him from doing whatever he feels like. I'm sure I'll be able to calm down easily in this situation.]

[I don't get what the problem is,] they said. [You've got your resets back, after all.]

[Yeah, I do,] I said. [But the issue is, I'd guess he knows that, too. And the Surface is a big place, isn't it, Frisk?]

[Uh… yeah,] they shrugged.

[Well, there's the issue. He'll just run off to somewhere far, far from here, where I won't even know it when he kills someone. And then what do I do?] I paused for a moment and sighed. [I can't do a thing, Frisk. He's going to be free to wreak whatever havoc he wants, and I won't be able to do a thing about it.]

Frisk hesitated for a moment. […Oh.]

[Yeah,] I nodded. [And don't forget, the Surface is full of humans. The moment he gets a few of their souls…]

Their face fell. […Oh,] they said again.

[Mm. This isn't good,] I told them.

[Yeah,] they agreed.

[And the worst part is, I don't even know where to find him right now,] I said. [He could be anywhere. Hell, for all we know, he could've flown out of that hole in the Ruins. He could be somewhere on the Surface right now, and we wouldn't have a clue.] I sighed. [It's just… how the hell do I even find him?!]

And as I said that, I suddenly had an idea. It wasn't an idea I liked, but… it was better than nothing.

[Actually,] I said, [maybe…]

I paused for a moment, and then, with my mind, I shouted [HEY! GASTER!]

[If you wish to kill Par, I will not help you,] he said, and I blinked. I hadn't expected the reply to come so quickly. [I am still not a traitor, and I refuse to be one.]

My heart sank. [Oh,] I said. [Well… I'm not. Not if there's any other way.]

[Mm,] Gaster said. [In that case, I may have more to offer you.]

[Thanks. Though… could we talk… you know… in person?] I asked. [This is weird.]

He sighed. [Where are you?]

[Papyrus' room,] I told him. [Or, well… what used to be his room.]

[Very well,] he said, and suddenly, he was standing in the middle of the room.

I couldn't help but flinch a bit. For all that I knew he could teleport, it was still startling to just see him appear out of thin air like that. Especially when it was so sudden.

"Uh… hi," I said.

"Hello," he said, turning his gaze towards me. He looked at me disapprovingly.

"I… um…" I suddenly realized I had no idea what to say. "Look, I just want to know how I can get to him. That's all. I won't demand anything else of you."

"You wish to know how you can get to him?" Gaster asked. "Very well. That much, I will answer. You cannot."

I blinked.

"If he does not wish to be found, you will not find him," he continued. "Your thoughts were correct – the world open to him is simply too large, and his ways of getting around it too myriad. Barring exceptional luck, there are simply no options you have to track him – and even if you did, getting to him would still present a challenge all on its own."

"Wait. Really?" I asked. "That's just… it? He's free to do whatever he wants, and I can't stop him?"

Gaster's eyes narrowed. "I never said that."

"But you just said that I can't find him!" I protested.

"Yes," Gaster said. "I never said you could not stop him. The assumption that finding him is a necessary part of doing so is entirely a product of your mind."

I hesitated for a moment. "Wait. What?"

Gaster sighed.

"Well, I mean, if I can't find him, how can I stop him?" I asked, defensively. "I can't try to fight him if I can't find him. I can't try to talk to him if I can't find him. I can't do a thing to him if I can't find him!"

"No," Gaster growled, agitated, "you can't do a thing to him if the two of you never meet. But there are other ways for you to meet than by you finding him."

"Like what?!" I yelled.

Gaster just looked at me, a piercing look in his eyes.

"Look, this is serious!" I shouted. "If Par gets away, we're all doomed! And that includes you! You really think he'll just accept your betrayal?"

"Of course not. Why did you think I told you as much as I already had?" he said. "I am, after all, still grateful to Par. I would not have told you a thing if I did not have a strong incentive for doing so."

"Well, you've got your incentive!" I told him. "Par wins this, you're dead, and that's if you're lucky. So, for the love of all that is holy, help me out here!"

Gaster cocked his head at me. "No."

"Why?!" I shouted at him.

"Because I do not want Par to come to harm," he calmly explained. "Nor do I necessarily want him to be stopped. Really, I am mostly concerned with my own safety. And if you are not even smart enough to figure this out, then there are most likely better options when it comes to ensuring that."

"Oh, come on!" I yelled. "Seriously?!"

"Yes," Gaster said, his gaze drifting around the room. "Frankly, I'm starting to doubt your ability to do anything to Par, even if you did manage to meet him. Perhaps it would be smarter of me to try and get back into his good graces while I still have time."

"No!" I said.

Gaster's eyes snapped back to me. "Then THINK, child. I do not want you to fail, not on something like this, but I do not like you halfway well enough to give you the answers on a silver platter, as you seem to want them. And besides, if you are not capable of working them out for yourself… well, I have said this already, but I will say it again: If that is the case, you will not be able to beat Par."

I hissed. "Okay. Fine. So you say me and Par need to meet – but I can't find him. So we need to end up in the same place in some other way." I growled and looked down, trying to figure out what the hell Gaster wanted from me.

My mind raced, but I didn't find any answers. Not only did the problem seem impossible, but no matter how hard I tried, my thoughts just kept turning back to how much of a bastard Gaster was being. It was a waste of my time to concentrate on that, but I couldn't bloody help it.

[Uh… maybe he could find you, instead?] Frisk asked from the back of my mind.

[And why the hell would he do that?!] I snapped back. But Gaster just stood and clapped slowly.

"I cannot believe I am saying this," he said, "but… you are correct, Frisk."

I blinked and looked up. Damn it. I'd forgotten that he was still in my mind, too. Of course he'd be able to hear Frisk. "What?!" I asked. "But… that's stupid!"

"Really, now?" he asked me. "Is it? I'm quite certain that Par absolutely despises you at the moment. If given the opportunity for revenge, I doubt he would be able to stop himself from leaping at it."

"Well, he doesn't have that opportunity!" I shouted at him, my temper frayed. "I've got my resets back! And I'm pretty damn certain he knows that much, since you were the one stopping them! So I somehow doubt he'd try and find me when he literally can't beat me!"

"Well, yes," Gaster said calmly. "That is somewhat of an issue. But a single issue is very rarely insurmountable."

His gaze shifted over to my side. "By the way, Frisk?" he said.

[Yes?] Frisk replied.

"Well done," he said, approvingly. "Honestly, I had thought you would be the stupidest person in this room. I see you are somewhat more astute than I imagined, however." He shot a backhanded glance at me. "And besides, that title would have gone to someone else anyway."

"Did you just call me stupid?" I asked.

"It's the truth," he shrugged.

I growled wordlessly.

"Alright. So what now?" I spat. "We've got an idea, I guess. But we still don't have any bloody clue how to make it work, so really, we're no further along than when we started."

"Incorrect," he said, unshakeable as ever. "You don't have a clue how to make it work."

"You've got an idea?" I asked him. "Then tell me. Tell me now, before Par gets the chance to do anything."

Gaster looked like he was about to say something, but then, his face mellowed out, just a bit. "Ah. You are concerned about time," he said. "That is… fair, I suppose. But I can reassure you that you have far more time than you believe."

I blinked, the anger suddenly stolen from my mind. "Wait. What?"

"I will not tell you why, because I am still grateful enough to Par to not go around spilling his secrets everywhere. But he will not act nearly as fast as you presume he will."

"O… oh," I said, suddenly feeling like a bit of an idiot.

[Could've told us sooner,] Frisk quietly muttered.

"I could have, and should have," Gaster said with a slight inclination of his head. "I apologize."

"Okay," I said, a lot calmer now. "So we're not too pressed for time. But… still. If you've got an idea, why not tell us?"

Gaster looked to the side for a few moments, clearly thinking about how he was going to say it. "I could tell you," he finally said, turning back towards me. "But – and I recognize that this sound stupid – you would simply resent me for it. I will put it plainly – the solution is not one that you will like, and if anyone were to simply tell you it, you would be unwilling to accept it. If I were the one to tell you, then considering our history, it would be even worse." He paused for a moment. "Do not misunderstand: I am not trying to sabotage you. I wish for you to stop Par. But this is something that you have to figure out on your own."

I stared at him doubtfully. "Yeah," I said, "you're right. That sounded stupid. Just tell me."

"This is not up for discussion," he said, calmly. "Remember: You must make Par come for you, but he will not, because he knows that you could reset away anything he could do. That is the problem you must solve. When you have the solution, I will tell you the rest of what you will need to know."

I sighed, agitated and aggravated and honestly just exhausted. "Okay. Fine."

"And one more thing," Gaster said. "Do not dally too much. You have time – but not an endless amount. Remember that." And with that, he vanished.

I put my face in my palms. Damn it. I didn't want to do this. I'd thought we'd be fine when the barrier was broken. I'd thought that would be it, and I'd have the peace I'd started longing for so suddenly. But of course, there was still Par. And now Gaster wanted me to solve a puzzle, too? Damn it. Damn it all.

I just… I just wanted to get it over with. Just do what I had to do, and then let myself rest for once in my life. But it looked like it wasn't going to be that simple. Now I just had more things to do, and I felt way too exhausted to do them.

But I had to do them, or monsterkind and humanity were both doomed. So, no pressure there.

I growled uselessly and finally looked up. The room itself seemed less bright somehow, less cheerful. I was just so damn tired of all this.

[Any ideas, Frisk?] I asked.

[Uh… not right away,] they said. [I mean… you've just got to make sure that he thinks it's a good idea to come after you, right?]

I chuckled mirthlessly. [Yes. _Just_.]

[Well, I know, I know,] Frisk said. [But… I mean… there's a few ways you could do it.]

[And how, pray tell?] I asked.

[I mean… your resets have been taken away plenty of times, recently,] they said. [If you managed to make the bird think he could do it again…]

[You want me to make him think he could take away my resets?] I asked. [That could work, if not for the fact that I need him to come to me. If you'll notice, none of the ways people have taken away my resets so far have involved going anywhere near me.]

[Asriel came near you,] Frisk pointed out.

[By coincidence,] I said, dismissively. [Look, the point is… I somehow don't think that'll cut it. Especially not when he could just go up to the surface, take some human souls from there, and take away my resets himself that way. When that's the case, why would he ever risk trying to do anything else?]

[Mm…] Frisk droned for a moment. [Yeah. I guess you're right.]

I nodded. [Wish I wasn't, but…]

[Mm,] Frisk nodded, and stared out into nothingness.

For a few moments, I just sat there. [He's just going to go up there and get the souls,] I finally said, dejectedly. [No point in him not doing that.]

Frisk shrugged. [Well… maybe we should try and figure out how to stop him from doing that?]

I shook my head. [He'd only not do that if he couldn't, and there's no way we can make that happen. We didn't break the barrier just to get trapped down here again. Besides, judging by the histories, the barrier wasn't exactly the easiest thing to make in the first place.]

[Yeah. I guess,] Frisk said. [I mean… maybe there's some way we could stop just Par specifically from leaving? Gaster's a scientist – he might have some idea how to do something like that.]

[No,] I said, immediately. [He said it'd be something I wouldn't like. If it was something like that, he'd have just told me immediately.]

[Oh,] Frisk said, crestfallen. [Yeah. Right.]

[I mean, at the end of the day, it all just comes down to the fact that… Par's going to want to take away my resets,] I said. [That's all there really is to it. As long as going up to the Surface is the easiest way to do so, that'll be what he'll do.]

Frisk hesitated for a moment. […I guess,] they said. [Well…]

I raised an eyebrow. [What?]

[Well, uh…] they said, hesitantly. [Par really just wants revenge on you, right? The only reason he wants to take away your resets is because he has to do that to get that revenge. But if he didn't have to do that…]

[What are you saying?] I asked, and a moment later, it hit me. […Wait. You're not saying I should seal off my own resets, are you?]

[Mmmm…] Frisk muttered indecisively. [It's… it could work.]

[How would we even do it?] I asked.

[Well, Gaster's a scientist,] Frisk said. [He could probably come up with something.]

I thought about it for a moment. [Maybe,] I conceded. [But… then I wouldn't have my power anymore.]

[Well… yeah…] they said. [But then again, if you stop the bird… it's not like you're really going to need it much, right?]

[Oh, come on!] I said. [I make mistakes all the time. One day or another, I'm going to need it.]

[But weren't you the one who said it was important to not just use it for every little mistake?] they asked.

That shut me up pretty nicely.

[…Yeah,] I finally said. [Yeah. I was. But… what if something happens? I mean, I've still got friends. I've got to protect them, don't I?]

[Chara, your friends can take care of themselves,] Frisk said. [I mean, come on! You know what Sans can do, and Asgore and Toriel are no slouches either.]

[I… I mean, I guess,] I said. [But… what if something happens anyway? I don't want them to suffer because I threw away my power.]

Frisk stayed silent for a few moments. When they spoke again, their voice was cautious, probing. Like they were afraid the wrong word might set me off. [Chara… are you sure you don't just like having that sort of power?]

[No!] I snapped back, defensively. [I just want to protect my friends! I'm not going to do anything-] _bad with it,_ I was about to say. And then I remembered.

I remembered what I'd told myself earlier, back when I was talking to Sans. This power was a big deal. I couldn't use it frivolously. If at all possible, it was best not to use it at all.

But I remembered what else I'd thought, too. That it would be easy to just slip into evil and never notice it. That it would be easy to tell myself I was using the power for the right reasons when I wasn't. That it would be so, so easy to get lost in it, to become what I once was once again.

Was that what I was doing, now? Was I just telling myself I needed the power for good reasons, when really, I just wanted it for the sake of… well… power? Was I refusing to let go of it even when it was the best choice, because I was afraid of just being a normal person? Was I doing exactly what I'd made so sure to warn myself against?

Suddenly my throat felt dry. God, I didn't want to give my power up.

And that told me all I needed to know, really.

[…I'll ask Gaster about it,] I said.

I didn't want this to be right. I didn't want to have to throw away my power. I wanted to be special, to have my control over time.

But then, that probably meant I wasn't the sort of person to be trusted with it.

[Hey, Gaster,] I said, thinking it in Gaster's direction this time. Which… sounded odd, but it really wasn't that unintuitive to actually do.

[Do you have the answer?] he asked, solemnly.

[I… think so,] I said, trying not to show how nervous I was. [Shouldn't you have heard it already, actually? I mean, if you're in my head and all…]

[I am not in your head, I can communicate to you using your thoughts,] he said. [There is a difference. I only hear what you say in your mind when I specifically listen, or when you specifically say it to me.]

[Okay,] I said.

For a moment there was silence, and then Gaster said [You said you had the answer.]

[Uh… yeah,] I said. [I-if the problem is my resets… if that's why he won't try and attack me… maybe… maybe we could just seal them away?]

Gaster paused for a moment before replying. [You realized that faster than I had anticipated,] he said, weight in his voice. [Yes. That is the only way I can think of. If your power disappears, he will sense it, and in those circumstances, I can guarantee he will attack. It is the best choice.]

[Oh,] I said, and sat silently on the bed.

Desperate hope came into my mind, desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, Gaster was wrong and there was another way. But mostly, what filled my thoughts was just cold, bitter resignation.

[I understand,] Gaster said after a while. [You do not wish to lose your power. That is only natural. You have only briefly had to live with there being a consequence for your every action, and when you did, it was the most terrifying thing you had ever been through. You do not want to experience it again. You do not want to live your entire life knowing that a single mistake could ruin everything, and you'd never be able to fix it.

[And yet…] He paused for a moment, and when he spoke again, it was in an oddly sympathetic tone. For Gaster, that was rare as hell. [It is the only way. I am sorry.]

It felt like my brain had shut down. Like the sudden pang of hopelessness was so great that it had stolen away all my capacity to think for myself. All I could think of to say was [How do we do it?] My voice sounded flat, hollow.

Gaster hesitated. [One moment,] he said, and teleported into the room. I didn't even look up. I was preoccupied with other things.

"Are you ready?" he asked. His voice… wasn't quite gentle, but it was nowhere near as firm as usual.

"One moment, please," I murmured.

"Very well," he nodded.

I tried to think. My resets were gone. Again. Not yet, of course, but it was as good as done.

And this time, I probably wouldn't be getting them back.

It wasn't that bad, I knew. All the monsters got by just fine without any sort of timeline manipulation. Hell, it was the same for the humans. But… it terrified me. Gaster had been right – I'd never really lived with the threat of consequences hanging over my head, not until this last timeline. And the knowledge that I'd have to live with it now – the knowledge that I'd have to spend the rest of my life worrying if I was doing things wrong, if there was something else that could be done – scared me.

I just didn't want to mess anything up. I didn't want to accidentally do something and make all my friends suffer for it. I didn't want to say the wrong thing and lose a friend forever. I didn't want to not be there when something happened to my friends, to be unable to prevent it. I didn't want them to suffer, damn it, and I knew that if I didn't have my power, they would. One day, they would. I wouldn't be able to protect them from everything.

But… then again… if I did have my power… would they not suffer just as much? Living trapped in a moment in time… there was no way I could see them being okay with that. And even if not that, even if I just reset any given event once or twice, they'd still have to live with the constant fear that everything would just be reset and they wouldn't remember anything that had happened recently. I couldn't imagine how it'd be like to live like that, but even from my point of view, I could see how horrific it would be.

And besides, if I gave this power up, my friends would suffer eventually – but if I didn't, if I clung on to it and didn't stop Par, they'd suffer right now. Along with everyone else.

Yeah. If this was what I had to do, this was what I had to do. And I decided that I would do it. No matter how much it scared me.

"Okay," I said with a nod. "I'm ready."

"Very well." He extended a hand. "Take my hand."

Nervously, I touched my fingers to his, and the moment I did, the room vanished from around me. I reappeared in front of a wicked-looking machine, in some place that was dreary and dim and blue all over. I recognized that aesthetic. We were under Alphys' lab.

Gaster looked up at the device. "Is that… is that it?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "This is a machine to extract someone's determination. All you need to do is step inside, and it will remove your determination from your soul and eject it as a pure substance. It will rob you of your ability to reset, and since it does not destroy your determination – merely separates it from you – it will also prevent anyone else from resetting, unless they can overcome the pure determination that will be produced."

I took a deep breath. "Okay."

"A technological marvel," Gaster said, absentmindedly. "Royal Scientist Alphys is quite a worthy successor to me, I must admit." Gaster vanished and reappeared next to a control panel of some sort. He pressed a few buttons, and the machine lowered, the plating on the front splitting open like some sort of giant mouth.

Trying my best not to think about what I was doing, I stepped inside. I heard another button click, and with a dreadful sense of finality, the doors closed, trapping me in darkness.


	36. Destiny

I kept the thoughts about how dangerous what I was doing was out of my head as much as I could as I waited.

The machine had worked with remarkably little fanfare. I'd just stepped in, waited for a bit while some machinery buzzed around me, and when the doors opened, I just couldn't feel the timelines anymore. Gaster had shown me how my determination looked, now that it'd been drained from me. It'd been an odd, pale reddish liquid which he'd collected in some sort of glass tube. He'd assured me it'd be kept safe, and that its continued existence would make sure no one would have control over the timeline – at least, not unless they managed to obtain even more determination.

Well, I hoped he was right. The prospect of a timeline controlled by Par was a terrifying one. And yet, if he was wrong about even a single thing, that'd be the timeline I'd have to live in. If he was wrong about how much Par hated me… if Par didn't come to get me and instead just went up to the Surface and got his souls… well, that'd just be it.

I couldn't think about that, though. I needed to stay determined (a bit ironic to think, now, of course, but…). If Par was out there getting his souls, after all, there wasn't a thing I could do about it anyway. Whereas if he was actually coming, there was no point in prematurely losing hope.

I took a deep breath. I'd been doing that a lot in the past few minutes. I couldn't help it. Every single moment felt like it'd be my last one in this world. I hadn't even taken the time to tell my friends what was happening. It'd hurt them too much, and I couldn't afford to have them try and stop me right now. Hopefully, that decision wouldn't come back to bite me – but who was I kidding?

After Gaster had drained my determination, I'd gone to the Last Corridor. It felt fitting. Here, I'd faced my final challenge in my previous runs so, so many times. As good a place as any to face my true final challenge.

A shadow fell across the golden floor and walls, and I jumped.

"Well, well, well," a voice said from behind me. "Chara, Chara… I don't know why you did what you did. But I can tell you for sure that it was the biggest mistake you'll ever make."

I turned and saw Par, right there, yellow magic glowing in his hand. "Also, the last," he said.

I swallowed. [Frisk,] I said, [wish me luck.]

Frisk smiled. [I don't think you need luck, Chara,] they said. [I believe in you.]

For a moment, everything was still. One last moment.

Par leapt at me, the magic in his palm forming into a crescent even as he moved. He swiped at me, the yellow blade cutting an arc through the air. I stepped back, but he recovered from his attack quickly and thrust his hand forward, sending the crescent flying. With a quick step to the side, I dodged it, and a second later, I heard the crash of it hitting the far wall.

A cocky smirk on his face, Par gestured with a hand, and a torrent of feathers flew from the floor in front of me, aiming right at me. I leapt to the side, and the moment I was clear, Par snapped his fingers (talons?), stopping the flow. The feathers that had already emerged – of which there were hundreds – flew towards him and surrounded him in a tornado.

From behind the wall of feathers, I could just barely see his face. He cocked his head and gazed arrogantly at me.

My mind raced. I'd been so preoccupied with the danger and with losing my resets that I hadn't even thought about the fact that I still needed a way to actually stop him. I couldn't kill him, and I didn't want to do so either. I needed to talk him out of it – but how? How in the world could I do that when I didn't know the first thing about him?

"Well?" he said, spreading his arms wide. The tornado moved like a living thing to make sure it stayed around him. "The only reason you'd get rid of your resets and come here is to challenge me. So come on!"

I did nothing.

He waited for another few moments, but finally, he lowered his arms and his face settled into something between disappointment and contempt. "Fine."

With a thrust of his hand, the feathers flew away from him and shot towards me. I jumped away, letting the feathers smash into the ground ahead of me. But only a few of them actually made it to that point – most of them doubled back and returned to surrounding him.

I narrowed my eyes. It seemed he'd learned a few new tricks since last time.

The feathers shot at me once more, and I jumped aside. This time, however, one of his crescents came with them. It was wide enough to get me even after my dodge, but thankfully, I managed to duck under it just in time. As before, most of the feathers flew right back to him rather than going all the way.

I stood up in time to watch his beak spread into a wide grin, somehow. Once again, he snapped his talons, and the feathers surrounding him all went to his back. They formed into a massive pair of wings, and when they were done, he leapt and took to the skies.

He flew above me, soaring on his wings of magic, and as he did, he fired a single crescent downwards. I dove out of the way, but as he came to a stop in the air, he turned and flung another crescent at me. Desperately, I rolled away from it, but before I could get to my feet, he rushed at me and knocked me back to the ground. As he flew away again, he flung two more crescents, and I scrambled to the side to avoid them. When they hit the ground, he himself came at me again, and while I tried to dodge, he adjusted his trajectory and got me anyways. He grabbed me by the neck of my sweater and carried me into the air with him.

"Any last words?" he taunted as he raised his free hand into the air, a crescent forming within it.

Instead of answering, I drew my knife and slammed the blade into the arm holding me.

Par grunted in surprise and withdrew his arm, dropping me. I rolled as I hit the ground, spreading the impact out as much as possible, and turned to look at Par. He roared in frustration and flung the crescent at me. I stepped out of the way and kept my eyes firmly locked on him.

With his left hand, he tore my knife out of himself and then passed it to his right hand. Armed with it, he rushed at me again, throwing three crescents at me in a spread as he went. There was no way I could get out of the line of fire entirely, so I ducked between two of them, but though I was unharmed, they still obscured my vision. Unable to see, I couldn't dodge as Par slammed into me, sending me back. He clutched onto me as I staggered away, and he ended up on top of me as we lay on the ground. He raised my own knife high above me and grinned.

I gritted my teeth. Damn it. If it was any other monster trying to do this, my next move would've been easy. All I'd have to do would be shove them off me, or just rip the knife out of their hands. Monsters weren't built for physical combat, after all. But whatever the reason, Par was clearly stronger than a normal monster. I was far from certain that I could do the same to him.

Par thrust downwards at my neck, and I grabbed his wrist. With a quick tug, I wrenched his hand away from me, but he kept trying to get at my throat. Now that we were in a direct contest of strength, I could accurately gauge how physically strong he was, and what I felt told me one thing – I couldn't keep this up. He wasn't that much stronger than me, but he was still stronger, and it wouldn't take too long for him to overpower me.

Good thing I've never been known to play fair.

My other hand was still free, and I made a fist and punched at Par's face. At the last moment, he saw it coming and tried to jerk his head away, but it was too late. My fist hit his cheek, sending him reeling. With my other hand, I quickly let go of his wrist and punched that, too, causing him to drop the knife. I grabbed it as it fell and stashed it into my pocket, then punched him in the face again before he could recover and shoved him off myself. As he fell to the ground, he managed to catch himself and take to the skies once more. While he did that, I quickly got to my feet.

He flung several crescents at me as he flew away, and I scrambled out of the way. Suddenly, I heard something behind me, and Frisk yelled [Behind you, Chara!] I turned around to see a torrent of feathers flying at me. I dove to the side and rolled to my feet, quickly turning once more. Just in time – I saw Par, crescent in hand, flying towards me. I didn't have enough time to dodge, but as he closed in, I shoved his hand with the crescent away from me and used that opportunity to step out of his path. He stumbled away to the side, throwing his crescent at me as he did. I twisted my body to the side and let it pass by me harmlessly.

Par sighed, deeply. "I see," he said. "I must say, you're doing better than I expected. Not that it'll save you in the end, of course…"

He slammed his palm into the ground, and I heard a rumbling near me. I ran away, but a wall of feathers sprang up in the direction I was going, and I just barely managed to stop myself from running right into it. I looked around, only to see feathers rising up from the ground all around me – surrounding me in a cylinder from which there was no escape. Just like the ones Par used to protect himself, only this time, it wasn't moving. It was just staying there, and holding me prisoner.

"Hmph," Par chuckled mirthlessly. "You saw how I could use my feathers. Did you really assume making a shield was the extent of how far I could control my powers?

"Well, it doesn't matter," he mused. "You're going to die anyway."

With a swipe of his hand he threw his crescent at me, but it was horizontal, and fairly high up. I ducked under it, letting it sail harmlessly over my head, and as I stood back up, I couldn't help but notice that it'd cut a small opening through the wall of feathers. But before I could think of any way to take advantage of that, he sent another crescent at me, a vertical one this time. I twisted my body to the side as far as it could go, trying my best not to collide with the wall. Still, I did, and I felt the feathers' cutting edges as they sliced several thankfully shallow wounds through my back. Fortunately, I'd turned enough to the side that the crescent didn't hit me, though it came so close that the heat radiating off it touched my face. It passed by, cutting another small opening through the cylinder.

I gritted my teeth. Maybe I could keep dodging, wait for him to cut his own wall to shreds – but that was too much of a risk. In my current situation, all it'd take would be for him to come up with a single mildly clever idea and I'd be dead. I needed to figure out how to get out of here.

As a test, though I didn't expect it to work, I drew my knife and sliced at one of the feathers surrounding me. But it didn't go through – in fact, the feather cut into the blade instead, leaving a narrow incision in the cold steel. I quickly pulled my knife back before the feathers could ruin it any more. I liked that knife.

Then, I decided to try something else. After all, even if I didn't know much about Par, there were still a few things I did know.

I turned towards him and smirked. "So, this is how it ends, huh?" I asked, and spread my arms as far as I could in the confines of Par's circle (which wasn't very far). "Well, fair enough. I guess if you can't beat me fairly, it's only smart to use a dirty trick."

Par laughed. "Really? You think that'll work? How short-tempered do you think I am?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I just… sort of thought you, of all people, would be the sort of person to want to prove you could actually do this, you know. With how much you like throwing your power around and all, I guess I thought you'd prefer to beat me honorably." I sighed. "Well, alright. I guess if you've got to cheat, you've got to cheat. Just go ahead."

Par looked at me, and I looked him in the eye. For a few heart-pounding moments, we stood there, sweat pouring on my face as I desperately hoped my attempt would work.

Finally, Par grinned. "Really?" he laughed. "That has got to be the most pathetic thing I have ever heard. I mean, seriously? THAT'S your plan?"

He shook his head, the smile still on his face. "Well, alright then," he said. "I guess I can give you a chance." With a gesture of his hand, the ring of feathers retracted back into the ground, and I sighed in relief.

I waited nervously for him to do something, but he just stood there. Finally, he spread his arms wide. "Well? Go on," he said. "I said I'd give you a chance – go ahead and take it."

"Oh," I said, realizing what he wanted from me. "You want me to attack you."

"I want you to try," he smirked.

I smiled. "Sorry to disappoint you. That's not why I'm here."

Par rolled his eyes. "Really? You're here to talk to me, then, I guess? Try and convince me that the path I'm on is wrong?

"That's stupid," he said. "You're a doomed person, Chara. You've been doomed since you'd given up your resets. Why not just accept that?"

"Because it isn't true," I said, my eyes narrowing.

"Is it not?" he asked. "Say you win this. I don't have a clue how you would, but let's say you win this. Let's say you kill me. Then what? One day or another something's going to kill you. The Surface isn't exactly the nicest place, you know – and the monsters? This might surprise you, but you know, they aren't all sunshine and rainbows either."

My gaze stayed on him. "Yeah. I know I'm going to die one day. But I sure as hell don't plan for that day to be today."

He shrugged. "Fair enough," he conceded. "But… you should've thought about that before you went and messed up my plans."

I was about to say something, but the moment he finished talking, he swiped both of his hands and sent two crescents at me in a cross. I dove out of the way, rolling to my feet as I landed, but I heard something above me and looked up. There was a glob of yellow magic above me, and as I watched, it formed into another crescent and flew at me. I leapt to the side, but as I did, I noticed another crescent – this one actually thrown by Par, I assumed – flying at me, and just barely managed to duck under it.

He raised a hand, and I heard a sound beneath my feet. Before I could even think, I leapt away, just in time to avoid a torrent of feathers that shot up from the floor. As they rose into the air, they formed into a large sphere. I watched it nervously, but it just stayed there, and I turned back to Par. He waved a hand and sent out another crescent – this one aimed at the sphere. I raised an eyebrow and turned back to look at the sphere, and saw it burst apart as the crescent hit it, each feather flying in a different direction.

It looked intimidating, but I'd seen similar things enough to be able to deal with them. Really, it was just a matter of being able to dodge the one or two projectiles that came closest – the rest didn't matter. I stepped back, letting the feather that would've otherwise hit me bury itself in the ground, and a thunderous commotion rang out through the room as the other feathers all hit the walls or the floor as well.

The feathers didn't disappear instantly as they struck those surfaces, though, which made me nervous. I looked around, trying to keep an eye on Par while still keeping track of what was going on with the feathers. Par snapped his talons, and all of the feathers rose out of whatever surface they were impaled in and started floating in the air. Slowly, they all pointed towards me.

My eyes widened a bit. Dodging a bunch of projectiles when they were all coming from one place was easy enough – but dodging a bunch of projectiles when they were all around you was another thing entirely. Especially when every single one of them was aiming right at you.

Before the feathers could get moving, I ran forwards, making sure to weave between the feathers already floating in the air. Quietly, I prayed the feathers wouldn't be able to redirect their aim after they'd already locked in. Thankfully, looking at the ones surrounding me as I ran, it seemed I was right.

With a noise of magic, the feathers started to move, all flying towards the spot where I'd been just a few moments ago. If I'd still been standing there, dodging every single one of them would've been nigh impossible. Since I'd moved, though, I only had to dodge a single stream of feathers. It was still nerve-racking – the feathers moved quickly, and knowing the bird, I really didn't want to find out what it'd be like to get hit with even one of them. But I'd had practice, and so, I simply let my instincts take over as the feathers came forth. I twisted to the side to dodge one, sidestepped another, ducked one more, and danced between the rest until they were all past. The feathers struck the floor at the spot where I'd just been, and I turned back to look at them. This time, they'd disappeared as they hit. Good.

I looked at the bird. His eyes were a bit disbelieving, and he stared at me with a fearsome intensity. I couldn't help it. I smirked at him. "Hah."

"Shut up," he hissed.

"You know, I've been thinking about something," I said. "I've been wondering why you never went to kill anyone yourself. You always had Slayer do it for you." I gestured to the destruction that had been wreaked around the corridor. "Looking at how little success you've had here… I'm starting to see your reasoning."

"Don't be smart with me, kid," he growled. "I'm going to get you eventually, you know."

"Really?" I asked him. "Are you really? Honestly, have you even killed ANYONE yourself?"

He said nothing.

I blinked in surprise. "Wait. You haven't?"

His eyes narrowed. "I suppose you'll have to be the first," he said.

I blinked at him again, and then he lunged at me, two crescents in his hands. I stepped back, twisted to the right and dodged his next strike, grabbed his left wrist (well, left from his perspective), and tried my best to keep that crescent away from me. He tried to break my grip, but he couldn't, and I took my chance to shove him away and leap backwards before he could try anything. With a grunt, he threw one of the crescents at me, and I jumped away again – but then, I realized that he wasn't aiming at me; he was aiming at the floor. As the crescent struck, it raised a cloud of dust, and I realized that Par would take that opportunity to jump at me. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't considered the fact that his weapon glowed yellow. Even through the dust, I could see the crescent coming at me easily, and I stepped to the side as Par emerged. He stumbled past me, spun around and tried to slash me again, but I ducked and jumped away. He jumped backwards, too, his wings flapping and carrying him into the air, and threw the crescent at me as he retreated. I dove out of the way and rolled to my feet quickly.

He clapped his hands together, and glowing crescents appeared to either side of him. One started spinning like a buzzsaw and flew at me. I dodged to the side and watched the other one. Par pointed a finger at me and it flew forth, going right towards me. Before dodging, I took a quick look behind me – there was no way that first one had been normal. My suspicions were confirmed, as I saw it turning in midair, starting to go back towards me once more.

I gritted my teeth. The crescent Par had just sent at me was vertical, so I couldn't duck under it. But the buzzsaw one was horizontal, so I couldn't step around it too easily – and it was now close enough that I didn't trust myself to do any fancy jumps. And they were going to come to my position at about the same time, so I had to dodge both simultaneously.

Unless I did something about it.

I ran forwards, towards the vertical crescent, and saw Par's eyes widen a bit in surprise out of the corner of my eye. As I ran, I leapt to the side, still moving forward, and dodged the vertical crescent. Since I'd gone forward, though, the other one hadn't reached me quite yet, and I had time to quickly duck under it and avoid getting sliced in half. This time, it flew all the way to the wall, and disappeared as it struck it.

Par snapped his fingers, and two streams of feathers started coming at me, one from each of the two long walls of the corridor. I leapt forward and out of their way, but Par charged at me, trying to shove me back into the line of fire. Normally I'd just step backwards and avoid the attack that way, but I couldn't do that now, and he was close enough that I wasn't sure if I could sidestep away. But I had no other choice, and so I tried anyways. Unfortunately, it seemed I was right to be cautious – he still slammed into me, but thankfully, I had made it a glancing blow. With a bit of effort, I managed to stop myself from stumbling into the streams.

He stopped just in front of them himself, then stepped away, created a crescent in his hand, and sliced at me. My eyes widened as I instinctively took a step back, but the feathers from the streams bit into me, and I stumbled forward again, right into the path of the crescent. Fortunately, I was still far enough back that it didn't cut deep, but it still stung. He sliced at me again, moving forward with the strike, and this time, I ducked to avoid the blade, making sure that the feathers wouldn't get me again. Then, before he could attack again, I went to the side, so that his advance wouldn't force me into the feathers again. He whirled and tried to strike me with his bare hand, but I stepped out of his reach and then took another few steps away, both from him and from the stream, just to make sure I was out of danger.

For a moment, he did nothing, staring at me in anger. Then, he snapped his fingers twice. The first snap turned off the two streams coming from the walls. The second one made a rumbling come once more from the ground under my feet, and I stepped away. A moment later, an entire line on the floor, stretching from Par all the way to the wall, started shooting feathers upwards, and I was just to one side of it. A moment later, though, the feathers disappeared, and Par flew at me, a blob of yellow magic in his hand. This time, he didn't form it into a crescent – he just tried to slam it into me. I didn't know what that would do, and I didn't want to find out. I spun to the side, but he twisted around too and tried to attack again. I dodged that one, too, and he slammed the blob of magic into the ground instead.

As it squished against the ground, I could see some sort of energy crackling around it. I gritted my teeth. It seemed like it was going to explode or something.

I didn't know how big it was going to be, and I didn't trust myself to be able to get out of the way fast enough while still keeping an eye on Par. Instead, I just turned and ran. A second or so later, I heard a loud sound behind me, and a vicious force took me off my feet and slammed me into the wall of the corridor. I slumped down to the ground, but I managed to get to my feet fairly quickly. Good thing, too – just as I rose, I saw one of Par's crescents flying right towards me, moments away from cutting me in twain. I ducked under it, and felt its heat above me as it passed.

Frisk's eyes widened. [Whoa,] they said. [Chara, I think you just got a free haircut.]

I scowled. [Not now, Frisk.] Though they were probably right.

I straightened up, gasping for breath. "Okay, seriously," I said, "Par, you haven't killed anyone yet?"

Par narrowed his eyes at me and folded his hands behind his back. "I have not. Why does it matter?"

"Well, I'm just saying," I said. "Judging by what you've done so far… I feel like you didn't need to use Slayer for all that killing you did. You could've done it yourself."

"And why would I?" he asked. "Would you not agree it would still be safer not to put myself at risk?"

"Oh, I guess, yeah," I said. "But… look at this. Look at what you've done so far. Besides, remember how I stabbed you in the previous run? You barely even reacted. Back then, I'd killed Asgore in one hit. If you could withstand something like that, I don't think any of the monsters could've even hurt you."

He stared at me. "And besides," I continued, "sure, sending Slayer out was still safer. But wasn't it a bit inefficient? Slayer could only be at one place at once, so you had to do everything one thing at a time. And I don't recall him being particularly fast, either. So why wouldn't you do some stuff on the side yourself while Slayer was taking care of his target? You'd be able to get everything done a lot faster."

"Your point is?" he asked me.

"My point," I said, "is that if you haven't done that, there's probably a reason for that. You've never killed anyone before… and you don't really want to kill anyone, do you?"

Par blinked at me. He held up a hand, and yellow magic sprang to life in his palm. "Your argument has a few holes in it," he pointed out.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, yes. You're trying to kill me now, because you're angry at me and you want your vengeance. But are you really? I don't know exactly how powerful you are, but judging by that explosion, you're really powerful. Yet I can't help but notice that at the start of this fight, you didn't use that much of your power. You held back. Hell, you even released me from that prison when you had me dead to rights."

He snorted. "Wouldn't exactly be fun if you died in seconds, would it?"

"But you're not Flowey," I said. "You're not interested in fun, are you? Cause I don't know about you, but to me, sending someone to do all your dirty work for you doesn't exactly sound fun. It's efficient, though – and that's the sort of impression I've always gotten from you. You're the kind of person who does anything to achieve a goal, aren't you?

"Only you're not doing that here." He said nothing, so I just kept talking. "And frankly, here, more than anywhere, you should logically be going for the quick kill. You hate me way too much to give me a fighting chance just for the sake of being fair. And yet you did."

Par frowned. He still said nothing, though. "You don't really want to kill me, do you?" I asked. "Or even if you do… you can't kill me, can you? Not that easily. You're not a killer. You want to be one, so you make a token effort and tell yourself that you're really trying. But somewhere deep within you, there's still something inside you that stops you from actually trying your hardest to kill me, that makes you afraid of killing someone. A little remaining bit of conscience, or maybe just instinct, but whatever it is, it doesn't matter. You think you want to kill me… but you don't really, do you?"

For a moment or two, Par just stared at me. "Interesting theory," he said, finally. "But have you forgotten about the previous timeline already?"

I snorted. "Oh, yes. I suppose you killed me back then. Because you knew it wouldn't matter."

"And so what?" he asked. "If you're saying there's some psychological block inside me that stops me from killing, why would it care-"

"Tell me, Par," I said, cutting him off. "Back then, how much convincing yourself did you have to do?"

He stopped short, staring blankly at me. That was when I really knew, for the first time, that I was right.

"You know, what you're saying can't be true. There's no psychological block," he finally said, calmly. But calm as he might've been, he didn't sound the slightest bit confident. "You yourself are the perfect proof against it."

I paused for a moment, considering how I'd answer that. "Yeah. I was a cold-blooded killer. I killed again and again and again, and I really never did feel anything about it. Because there's something wrong with me. I don't know what it is, and thankfully, whatever it happens to be at least doesn't stop me from being normal when I want to be. But there's something broken inside me." I looked at him firmly. "But you? You're different. There's nothing wrong with you. You want there to be. You want to be a cold-blooded killer. But the fact is your mind's normal, and you think like a normal person. And no normal person would be able to just kill someone and never bat an eye at it."

Par stared at me, breathing quickly, anger in his eyes. I knew he wanted to snap at me. I knew he wanted to tell me I was wrong, to come up with some argument that would prove his view and make me look like a fool. And I knew that he couldn't. He couldn't, because I was right. Even if he didn't want to admit it yet.

Suddenly, in the lull in the fighting, I became aware of something.

A voice from somewhere – a familiar voice, somewhere outside the corridor. I flinched a bit. I'd been so absorbed in the confrontation that I hadn't heard the voice clearly, so I didn't know who it was. But I heard footsteps, footsteps approaching.

That worried me. Someone was coming. I didn't know who, but someone was coming. Either Gaster hadn't been as honest about abandoning Par as I'd thought, or this was where my choice not to tell any of my friends came back to bite me. If one of them came here... it wouldn't be good. I was willing to bet my own life to stop Par, but... not any of theirs.

A familiar monster appeared in the doorway, and my eyes widened. "Ah, here you are," Toriel said.

Sudden fear rose up in me. Her, of all people? No. I didn't want her to die. "Tori, stay back," I said quickly.

"You scared me," she said. "You just disappeared, and you weren't answering your phone…"

"I'm sorry," I said. "Please, leave."

"Why, my child?" she asked. She looked around, saw Par, and blinked in surprise. "Is this…?"

"Yes," I told her, frantically. "Go. Now." I heard Par hissing with fury, his rage still boiling. That scared me more, because even if he wouldn't kill someone in cold blood, who knew what his emotions could push him to do? If he snapped, there was suddenly no guarantee I'd be the one he'd take it out on.

"What's ha-" Toriel asked, surprised and shocked and confused and worried, and then something slammed into me.

The sudden energy that I felt couldn't be mistaken for anything else. It was magic, raw and powerful and deadly magic. Par had lost control, and I'd been distracted. His emotions had clearly made him unable to shape the magic as well as normally – if not for that, I'd have been cut apart – but still…

Toriel's sudden piercing shriek filled my ears as the sudden force took me off my feet and threw me backwards at a lightning-fast speed. Panic rose up within me. If she got angry at Par, if she tried something stupid…

And then my head hit the wall, and everything went dark.


	37. Interlude 6

"W-what have you done?!" Toriel shouted, looking with wide eyes at her child's unconscious ( _please let it just be unconscious, please let it just be unconscious_ ) body.

The bird – she couldn't remember his name at the moment – stared at them too. His breathing was still quick, and he looked anxious and nervous and frustrated. He said nothing, just panting and gasping as he gazed down at them, seemingly too absorbed in what he'd just done to even notice the outside world.

"What have you DONE?!" she yelled again.

At last, the bird seemed to notice he wasn't alone. His eyes shot the briefest glance towards her, and then he went right back to staring at Chara again. "They're not dead, woman," he muttered. "Calm down." For a moment, he paused. "I… think, at least."

"You think?!" she asked.

He said nothing, so Toriel, fear and anxiety rising up within her, rushed to Chara's body. All the way she dreaded what she would find. All the way she was terrified of getting there and finding nothing but a lifeless corpse. _No,_ she told herself. _If they were dead they'd just reset. They can still do that, right?_

Her hand clamped around Chara's wrist like a vise, and she felt something pulse in her grip. A sudden wave of relief flooded through her. A heartbeat. Their heart was still beating. They were still alive.

Quickly, she took a look at them. Bruised. Beaten. Battered. Cut up. She didn't want them to be like that. She didn't want her child to keep getting hurt. She just wanted to take them home, to tell them it'd all be OK, to make sure none of these horrible creatures bothered them again.

She couldn't do that. She should've been able to. She was their mother, their protector. It wasn't right that they were the one putting their life on the line. It should've been her. They were just a child. They didn't deserve to die. They were too young to be hurt like this, to fight in these deadly battles.

And yet Toriel knew she couldn't stop them. She'd felt it, that first time they'd refused her offer of protection. They wouldn't back down. If they thought they could help others, if they thought they could save their friends, they'd put anything on the line to do it. That terrified Toriel. But… she was proud, too. So, so proud. And so ashamed that she was just letting them do it all on their own, unable to help in the slightest.

But there were some things she could still do. She reached for her magic – for the sweet, gentle warmth of healing, the mending energy of restoration. With a small effort of will, she let it seep through her child like rainwater washing away the dirt and the grime, healing all their cuts and wounds. With their injuries gone, they looked almost peaceful, sleeping there like that.

"Thank goodness," she finally dared to whisper. It was alright. Chara was alright. It'd all be fine.

She stood up and looked at the bird. He hadn't moved. He still just stared at Chara, a myriad of emotions written on his face, eyes wide.

"You almost killed them," Toriel said.

"S-so what?!" he yelled. "I'll… I'll do the same to you if you don't get out of here! I-I mean, I'll… I'll actually kill you!"

A tinge of concern tinged Toriel's eyes. "Please, Mr…?"

"Par," the bird said absentmindedly.

"Par," Toriel repeated. "Please, could we at least… talk about this?"

His gaze turned to her, and he still breathed quickly, his eyes still wide. His arms trembled. For a moment, Toriel thought he was about to say something, and then he swung his arm in front of himself.

She wasn't prepared, and before she could react, the crescent smashed into her. A slice of her body simply exploded as she was flung backwards, and a mound of dust piled up on the floor as those bits disintegrated, the power of her magic no longer keeping them intact.

Her back slammed into the wall, and she fell to one knee. Somewhat disbelievingly, she looked at herself. There was a chunk of her simply missing, carved away by the power of the crescent. And yet... she was alive.

Not even realizing how much pain she should've been in right now, not even realizing how much the adrenaline dulled the sensation, she tried to get up. But her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.

The world swam in front of her eyes, and she could barely put together a coherent thought. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered something. Healing. Healing magic. She had to use that. She reached for it, but it felt weak, far away, and no strength or power pulsed through her as she tried to mend her wound. There was no way she could do it. Not with this sort of injury.

Par must've sensed what she was trying, because with a flap of his wings, he launched himself to Chara's unconscious body. "Don't try it!" he yelled, shrilly. One taloned hand grabbed them by the collar, and an orb of yellow magic appeared in the other. "I'll… I'll…!"

Toriel's eyes went wide, and she stopped her attempts immediately. It was worth dying if it meant saving her child.

For a few more moments Par held the deadly sphere, hand poised to thrust it into Chara's head, arm trembling. Half-crazed eyes stared down at them.

"Very well," Toriel said, frantically. "I-I won't. Please, don't harm them."

Par took a few more breaths, quick and jagged and uneven breaths, and the orb expanded into a crescent. Again, his arm trembled. And then, the crescent vanished, leaving nothing more than a few sparks of energy behind. He let go of Chara's sweater, and their body slumped against the wall once more.

"Thank you," Toriel whispered.

She couldn't do a thing. If she tried anything else, Par would just kill Chara. She couldn't let that happen. She could never let that happen.

But if she did nothing, they'd still die. Par would kill them one day or another. Not now, perhaps, but she still couldn't let that happen, either.

Quietly, moving as little as possible, desperately praying not to make a sound, she reached into her pocket and took out her phone. As much as she possibly could, she covered up the light with her body, but a little sliver still escaped and shone through the room. Panic shot through her, sudden certainty that Par would notice, that he'd realize what she was doing, that he'd kill her child.

But he was too busy staring down at them, his eyes still wild. He didn't seem to even notice Toriel, much less the light.

Still holding her breath, Toriel fumbled with the phone's buttons. She couldn't just call anyone, of course she couldn't – Par would hear. But there was still something she could do. Quietly thanking Alphys for teaching her how to do this, she sent a text message to the one person who first came to mind – Sans.

It read: "help".

A few moments later, she sent one more. It read: "golden corridor".

Her eyes looked towards Par, her breath still baited. She didn't know what Par would do. She didn't know when Sans would get her message. She didn't know if he'd decide it was worth worrying about. All she could do was pray that he got it soon, and that he took it seriously, and that Par didn't do anything to Chara – or to her – in the meantime.

Several heart-pounding moments later, Sans appeared in the corridor, and Toriel finally let out a breath.

"hey," he said, looking around the corridor. "what's-"

He looked at the bird and his expression changed and he thrust his arm to the side and Par flew at the wall of the corridor.

Par gasped in surprise, flailing uselessly as he was dragged backwards, and slammed into the gilded wall. His eyes still wide, but now in surprise, he looked around the room until he met Sans' eye. He took a few breaths and looked at him.

"heya," Sans said, his voice cold. "you the bird the kid's been telling me about?"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Par yelled, his magic crackling around him.

"no can do."

"S-Sans…" Toriel muttered, and his gaze shifted to her. His eyes widened just the tiniest bit.

"tori," he said, shocked. "what…?"

"Please," she said, "get Chara to safety."

Sans looked at her for a moment more, concern in his eyes, and then his gaze shifted to Chara. Then he looked back at her again, and then he shrugged, teleported to Chara, put an arm under theirs, and they both vanished. A moment later, Sans reappeared, alone this time.

Toriel sighed in relief. At least her child was safe, for now. At least she could be assured of that much. The rest wasn't as scary.

"now then," Sans said, directing his attention to the bird once more, "where were we?"

Par stared at him with those insane eyes, but they seemed a little less crazed with anger, now – more just surprised and confused.

And then, Toriel felt a stinging in her side. She turned her head, unsure of what she was feeling, and saw the enormous gash still in her body. _Ah, yes,_ she thought, aware even as the thoughts came of how strangely calm they were. With the adrenaline fleeing her now that Chara wasn't in danger, she reasoned she might start feeling the pain soon. That wouldn't be good.

Her thoughts far, far too serene for the situation, she reached for her healing magic again. Perhaps now that she wasn't consumed by worry, she would be able to use it. Unfortunately, her prediction was wrong – with such a grievous wound, it seemed she simply could not use her healing magic. Or, she assumed – she quickly snapped her fingers, trying to create a fireball, to test her theory – any magic at all. She had simply taken too much damage for it.

"One more thing," she said, and Sans turned his head to her. She didn't like it, but she swallowed her pride and said, "Could you please bring Asgore here?"

Sans blinked at her, then shrugged again, shot a passing glance at the bird, moved his hand again to reinforce the spell on him, and vanished. A moment later, he came back, a very confused-looking Asgore in tow.

Toriel's eyes narrowed. She still didn't like him, but he was the only one she knew who could help her. After all, they'd used to practice all the same magic, and assuming Asgore hadn't forgotten it all over the years, that meant he still had some healing magic of his own. It wouldn't be as powerful as Toriel's own – not even close – but at least it could make the wound a slight bit less grievous, and from there, Toriel thought she could take it on her own.

Asgore looked around the room, his eyes wide in surprise. Apparently, Sans hadn't bothered to tell him… anything… before teleporting him. Toriel couldn't deny that it saved time, but…

His eyes fell on Toriel. "T-Tori!" he shouted, rushing over to her. "A-are you…"

"I am fine, Dreemurr," she said. "…but your assistance would be appreciated."

"I… I…" Asgore paused nervously. "I… don't know if I can heal something like that…"

"I don't need you to heal all of it," Toriel told him, impatiently. "Just heal me enough that I can reach my own magic."

"O-oh," Asgore said. "I'll… try…"

He pressed a hand to the wound in her body, and she winced in sudden pain. She felt his healing magic going through her – less gentle, less controlled than her own. It felt more like a blazing heat than a gentle warmth. But it did its job well enough for the circumstances, and the wound shrunk, the pain receding.

Asgore cautiously pulled his hand away. "I'm sorry," he said, regretfully. "That is all I can do."

Toriel sighed. "It'll be enough." She pressed a hand to her own side and reached for her magic once more. It was still dull and faded, and only responded sluggishly to her commands, but that was alright. As she let the magic flow through her and mend her injury, it started moving faster, more confidently. Every bit of the wound she healed away made it easier to heal the rest. Soon the magic was a river rather than a stream, and then a torrent, and soon the wound had disappeared.

Breathing a sigh, Toriel pushed herself to her feet, finally able to actually act again. She paused for a moment. "…Thank you, Asgore," she grudgingly said.

"You're welcome, Tori," he responded, and then his eyes grew wide as he suddenly realized what he'd just called her. Toriel gave him a level look but said nothing. She just swept past him and turned to look at Par, still pinned to the wall. Behind her, he turned around too, an eyebrow raised.

"Par…" she said, a bit hesitantly, and then paused for a moment, unsure of what to say next. "Why are you doing this?"

"What does it matter?" he hissed.

"You almost killed my child," Toriel reminded him, sadness in her voice. "Why would you do that?"

"They got in my way," he replied, as if that explained everything.

"That is no reason to harm them like that," she said, her voice rising. "If I had not been there…"

"I would've-" Par started, and hesitated for a moment. "Killed them."

Toriel looked up at him sadly. "You miserable creature… what happened to make you like this?"

He scoffed. "You betrayed me. You all betrayed me."

"How?" she asked.

Par hissed and didn't answer. Toriel's eyes were still focused on him. She didn't know what had happened to make him like this, but…

"Just… shut up!" he finally said. "Shut up!"

"and let you do as you please?" Sans interjected, and shrugged. "nope."

"You… you…!" Par yelled, and swung an arm. A crescent flew at Sans but he vanished for a split second and reappeared when it was past.

Par growled and pushed himself away from the wall. His wings flapped and he flew forwards jerkily, but then crashed back to the wall. For a few moments he looked confused, and then some spark of realization flared in his brain and he pushed himself to his feet, so that he was standing on the wall now.

"Gravity manipulation," he growled with a note of satisfaction. "Your little tricks can't keep me down." He leapt off the wall and his wings flapped again, but this time, he was upright in respect to how gravity currently affected him. He took off, and was free of the wall.

And then Sans, his usual grin seeming a little more cocky than usual, let the spell go. Par's eyes went wide and he tried to adjust to the sudden change in gravity, but he couldn't, and he fell to the floor.

Toriel stepped in, a fireball coming to life in her hand. She held it above him, close to his body. "Do not move," she warned.

Sans looked concerned. "uh… bad idea, tori," he said.

Her eyes darted to him for a moment. "Why?"

"beca-" Sans started explaining, and then Par thrust an arm upwards, letting his hand collide with the fireball. The fireball burned him but he barely even seemed to notice it, and his palm pressed into Toriel's, smothering the flame.

"that," Sans said. "…though i expected it to go a bit worse."

Par flung out a hand, and before Toriel could react, energy – simple, raw, uncontrolled energy – slammed into her and she was flung backwards. She fell to the ground, and Par stood up. He looked around at the assembled monsters, frustration in his eyes. Toriel got to her feet quickly, trying to be ready for whatever he did, but he didn't do anything. Just looked around desperately like a cornered beast.

A small voice sounded from somewhere far away, elsewhere in the castle. "Uh… hey! Where is everyone?"

Sans' eyes grew the tiniest bit wider. "alphys, stay away from here."

"Why?" she asked.

"there's big things going on," Sans answered.

"H-hey!" she yelled. "I-I can help too, you know!"

"it's dangerous," he said.

"T-that's okay!" she said, nervousness and confidence both dancing through her voice, and the monsters heard the pitter-patter of little scaly feet approach the corridor.

Sans shrugged. Toriel's eyes widened with concern. Asgore still just looked very confused. And Par looked even more flustered than before.

Alphys burst through the doorway. "What's ha-" she started, and looked around.

"U-uh…" she stammered. "Is… is that…"

Par growled. Sans said "yeah. apparently."

"T-the one who tried to kill Chara?" she asked.

"mm-hmm," Sans nodded.

Fear grew in Alphys' eyes, but she still joined the circle that was being formed around Par. "Oh, come on!" he yelled.

"what?" Sans asked.

"This isn't fair!" he shouted.

"and you fighting a kid was?" Sans said.

Par growled. "W-well…. they…" He hesitated. "They knew how to fight, okay?! That was fair! Shut up!"

Sans shrugged. "so i guess that makes you trying to kill them alright?"

"Well… no, but-" He paused. "I mean, yes- well, no, but- shut up! Just… shut the hell up!"

"S-sir..." Toriel ventured.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled, and rushed towards her, his magic already growing in his hand. But Sans moved a hand to the side and he flew at the wall again, screaming in frustration. He tried to reorient himself to land on his feet, but he couldn't do it in time and just ended up falling on the wall awkwardly.

He hissed again and tried to reorient himself on the wall so he'd be on his feet, but as he did, Sans let the spell go, dropping him unceremoniously to the ground. He staggered to his feet again, only the moment he was up, Sans turned his soul blue again, and he went to the wall once more. He roared in anger.

"Oh, to hell with that!" he shouted. "I've got a bloody human soul inside me. I don't ne-" He paused for a moment. "…ed… to…"

Everyone blinked a few times in surprise. "huh," Sans said. "that explains a bit."

Par looked around for a few moments. "Dammit," he finally growled.

He grunted. "Never mind. So what?" he asked. "So you know I've got a human soul. Boo-hoo. What the hell do you plan to do with that?"

Sans shrugged.

"Anyway, point is," Par snarled, "you can't hold me, skeleton." With an effort, he pulled himself down the wall, and set a single foot on the floor. Sans' eyes grew the tiniest bit wider, and Par set himself down. With an effort like he was bound by a heavy weight, he took a single step forward, eyes fixed on Sans.

Once more, Sans swung his arm to the side, and Par grunted and stumbled as if hit by something. But he remained standing.

"Hah," Par laughed mirthlessly. "You can't do a thing to me. None of you can. You're all just insects."

And then something took him off his feet and sent him to the wall once more.

A tall shape stepped through the door, and everyone's head turned to look at the newcomer. All of their eyes widened, but Par's most of all.

"Or you could accept that you've lost," Gaster said, turning towards Par, " _master._ " He put so much venom into the word that no one even thought to try and say anything. Gaster's presence simply commanded them all to wait for him to finish speaking, and the room fell silent.

"For someone with the power of a human soul, you aren't doing too well with these _insects_ , as you called them," Gaster said. "How did you even manage to defeat Chara? Unless you hit them while they were distracted by one of these ones…"

Par's eyes narrowed and a low sound came from his throat. A small, arrogant smile formed on Gaster's skull. "Ah. I'm right, am I not?"

Once again, Par growled, and Gaster said "I see I am."

Par seethed for a moment, and then he spat, "Traitor."

Gaster's face turned serious, and he said "Perhaps."

"You said you would be loyal," Par told him.

"Then call me an oathbreaker," Gaster said. "I am above caring for what titles you heap onto me."

"Bastard," Par hissed.

"Name-calling? Really?" Gaster asked. "Even from someone like you, I would have expected better."

Once more, Par hissed, wordlessly this time. Again, Gaster smirked.

"Either way," Gaster said, "let me introduce my special guest."

Gaster took a single step away from the door, and into the corridor walked a very unhappy-looking Chara.

Toriel blinked. "M-my child?"

They smiled. "Hey, Tori."

"B-but…" Toriel's mind struggled to make sense of this. "Y-you were…"

"You healed their injuries, and since I was already keeping an eye out on Papyrus' room – I had assumed they'd return there after the fight – and that was where Sans had taken them, it didn't take long for me to find them," Gaster said. "From there, the only thing left to do was wake them up. Which I took the liberty of doing."

Chara scowled. "You slapped me over the head."

"I woke you up," Gaster noted.

"You slapped me over the head," they said again, more force behind the words this time.

Gaster waved a hand. "Regardless… you are here now. And that is what matters."

Chara sighed. "We'll talk about this later." They stepped forwards and looked Par in the eye. He looked back at them, anger written on his face.

"Hey there," they said. They looked around. "Gang's all here, huh?"

Par's brow furrowed in anger. "I can still kill you, you know," he said. "This spell doesn't mean I can't use my own magic."

"Yeah," Chara admitted. "Real question is, will you?"

Par said nothing, and Chara gestured at the monsters gathered around him. "I know what you can do. The fact is, you could've killed all of these people – well, maybe not Sans – without many issues," they said. "You didn't, though. So, I'm pretty sure I was right."

He growled. "Shut the hell up. Now."

Chara stepped forward and walked right in front of Par. They raised their gaze to look him straight in the eye, ignoring Toriel's gasp of concern. "Make me," they said.

A blob of magic appeared in Par's hand. "Maybe I will," he said.

"Chara…!" Toriel shouted out, but they just turned and smiled at her.

"I'll be fine," they said. "Just watch."

Par raised his hand and the magic formed into a crescent. Chara turned back towards him and looked into his eyes once more.

A few moments passed, and the bird's arm swung downwards. He was going to do it. He was going to kill them

But as the deadly crescent approached them, Par froze.

Chara smiled and folded their arms. "Point proven."

With a roar, Par swung once more, at their neck. They just smiled at him – that cocky, arrogant smile that Par couldn't stand. It was like they were taunting him. Like they were daring him to hit them, to kill them, safe in their assumption that he wouldn't.

Par's arm froze again. Damn it. What the hell was wrong with him?!

They turned around, that little arrogant smirk never leaving their face, and started walking away. Before they took more than a few steps, they stopped and half-turned towards Par. "By the way," they said, "I'm going to walk away now. You won't be able to see my face. It won't even be personal. You'll just be able to throw the crescent and that'll be it."

They grinned. "You've got your perfect opportunity to kill me. Just throw your attack and watch me fall in half. You'd like to do that, wouldn't you?"

Once more, they turned away and started walking, and with another roar, Par swung his arm. But at the last moment, something made him clutch onto the crescent, something made him refuse to let it fly.

Damn it. Damn it all.

He closed his eyes and flung the crescent at where he knew they'd be at that moment. A thunderous crash came somewhere in front of him, and he opened his eyes the tiniest bit, some part of him dreading, for some stupid reason, that he might've actually hit them. But he only saw a small crater in the ground – at a spot which he KNEW wasn't the one he'd aimed at. Or had he…?

Chara flinched a bit – that was satisfying, at least – but a moment later, they turned to look at him, a cocky smile on their face. Par wanted to bash that face in. But Gaster's – and the other skeleton's – bloody magic prevented him from moving an inch. He didn't know if it was just some quirk of soul magic in general, or there was something special about those two, but for whatever reason, even with the power of a human soul, he could not overcome the power that held him to the wall.

Once more, Par raised his hand into the air, forming a crescent. _I'm going to throw this one,_ he told himself. _I'm going to kill them, and then…_ An image flashed in his mind of the crescent going straight through them, of the look of shock on their face as the two halves of their body fell apart from each other. His hand trembled.

He couldn't do it. He just couldn't do it. The crescent faded.

Finally, Chara stopped and turned all the way towards him again. "Look, Par," they said, "I'm sorry, but… I don't think there's much room for argument anymore."

Par trembled in rage as they started to walk towards him. "You're just… not a killer," they told him, as if he hadn't heard them say it before. "I don't know what happened to make you this way – and I don't intend to try and find out; you're entitled to your secrets – but you were never meant to be like this."

"Shut up," he said again, halfheartedly.

Chara hesitated for a moment. "Do you… actually have anyone you really care about?" they asked, their tone oddly somber.

Par scoffed. "No."

They smiled, sadly, and looked down. "Ah. That explains it." They turned back to him. "You don't know how it feels, do you?"

He blinked. "What?"

"You don't know how it feels to have a real friend," they said. "Right?"

Par didn't say anything.

"It's so much better than you'd think," Chara told him. "I promise."

Suspicion grew in Par's mind. "Why are you telling me this?"

They smiled a little. "Well, honestly, it's because I need you to stop what you're doing or we're all doomed," they said. "But… I guess I see something of myself in you, too."

Par stared at them, confused.

"You remember, right?" they asked.

He knew what they were talking about. They were asking if he remembered what they'd used to do. How they'd used to kill everyone, over and over again. "Yes," he said. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

They nodded. "I was like you, once," they said. "Well… much more successful, but more or less like you.

"And then I discovered what it was like to have someone, someone out there who genuinely cares about you. Who you can genuinely call a friend. I discovered how it felt to understand, to truly understand, that everyone around you has feelings and friends and family and emotions, and that every little thing you do can have an effect that you'd never imagined before. I learned what it was like to live in a world with consequences. In a world where I couldn't just reset away anything I didn't like – a world where I really had to think about what I was doing, a world where I needed allies. More than that – I needed friends. And I was left with no choice but to get some."

Their mouth spread slowly into a smile. "It was the best time of my life," they said. "I know you can't understand this, not as you are now. I know you think it's silly, it's stupid – but that's all the same things I thought before. So please, just trust me. When you have someone who cares for you and for whom you care – hell, when you just have someone you can spend some time with – the world changes. I'm not exaggerating."

Par tried to find some reply, something to shoot back at them. But there was nothing he could say.

They turned to the monsters gathered around. "Sans, Gaster, let him go, please," they said.

At once, he felt Gaster's magic fade from him. Sans took a bit longer, but after a moment, he shrugged and dropped his own spell, too. Par fell to the floor, finally able to just stand again.

Once more, Chara turned back to him. "Please, just… turn away for this."

Par stared at them, blankly.

They sighed and closed their eyes. "At least see what it's like," they said. "Please."

And Par found himself doing the unthinkable. He found himself… thinking about it.

It seemed so easy. To just leave all of this, this goal that had eluded him for so long, and just… rest. Just stop.

But he couldn't turn away from his revenge. He couldn't let the monsters get away with their betrayal, and he couldn't let the humans get away with their own crimes, either.

Yet even as he thought those things, they seemed… dull. Hollow. Things he told himself and didn't really believe.

All of a sudden, even the threat of giving Chara the satisfaction of a victory over him seemed unimportant.

"I…" he said, and paused for a moment. "Fine. I'll give it a try." After all, he thought, trying to justify it to himself, what harm could it do?

Chara smiled, a genuine, warm smile that radiated a gentle happiness. Without even realizing it, Par found himself sharing in it. "Thank you," they said. They turned around. "Tori, take care of him for a while, would you please?"

"Of course," she nodded.

They turned to him once more. For a moment, they hesitated. "There's… something I want to give you. Just… as a reminder of what you chose." They reached up to their neck, removed their locket, and held it out to him.

Par blinked at them. "I thought this was important to you."

"It is," they said. "That's why I'm giving it to you."

Gingerly, he took the locket from their hands. His own hand trembled, and something made him clutch onto it like it was precious beyond words.

…

And that was the beginning of the end.

Chara leaned against the wall of Sans' house, the simple joy of finally being free, finally being safe still radiating through them, even a few hours after the fact. It was over. They didn't have to worry about Par anymore. For once, they could let themselves just… be happy. And relax.

A robed figure passed by, and Chara figured they had a pretty good idea of who it was. "Hey," they said.

The figure stopped, turned towards them. A few moments of hesitation later, it approached. A taloned hand reached up and pushed the hood back a tiny bit.

"Par," they said. "How's it going?"

He glanced to the side. "It's…"

They smiled. "Odd, right?" they asked. "You don't feel like you should be enjoying it. You feel like you should hate her, hate spending time with her. But you can't help yourself."

Par looked at them. There was still a part of him, they knew, that wanted to say _no_. Some part of him still wanted to stick to his old ways out of sheer defiance. But they felt confident it wouldn't win.

"W-well…" he said. "Toriel… she…"

Chara nodded. "I know how it feels," they assured him. "Just… let your preconceived notions go, for a moment. Just let yourself be happy."

He looked away again, and stayed silent.

"You been taking good care of my locket?" Chara asked him.

"Yeah," he said, absently.

"Thanks," they said. "I wouldn't want it to get damaged."

"It won't," he said.

"Thank you."

For a moment, there was silence. "It's not that long a road, you know," Chara said. "But… it's a hard one. You'll have to question yourself. That's never easy. But… I think you can do it. Especially with Tori by your side."

Par said nothing, just looked away with a solemn look in his eyes. Chara knew he knew they were right.

Silence.

"And one more thing," Chara said. "Word's reached me that you've got a human soul."

He blinked and looked at them, his eyes a bit wide. "Yeah," he said bitterly.

"Good," they said. "What you're going to do is find someone called Asriel – he looks a little like Asgore, only a small kid – and give him that soul."

Par froze in stunned silence, and Chara gave him a sly look.

Frisk had slipped away from Chara a few minutes ago. They didn't like it, but they couldn't tell them. This was something they had to do on their own.

They found Gaster after a while. [Hey,] they said.

Gaster glanced in their general direction, his expression regretful. [I see you've figured it out,] he replied.

[Yeah,] they nodded.

Awkwardly, Frisk waited for him to say something. [Well, go on,] he finally said.

They hesitated. [Taking away Chara's resets… it wasn't the ONLY way, was it? Or at least, you weren't sure it was.]

Gaster said nothing. He just looked out into nothingness.

[You were just looking for an excuse,] they said. [You already wanted Chara's power gone, and you just used the situation to make that happen. You figured that was the first solution we'd come to, after all, didn't you? And since we came up with it ourselves, we couldn't blame you for having an ulterior motive for suggesting it.]

For a moment, Gaster waited. [Interesting theory,] he said.

Frisk blinked. [So you didn't do that?]

[I never said that,] Gaster reminded them.

[So… you did?] Frisk asked.

[I'm afraid you can't prove anything,] Gaster said.

[So you did do it,] they said.

Gaster didn't answer.

[But…] They paused for a moment. [You tricked Chara. That's… that's wrong.]

He shrugged.

[I'll tell them,] Frisk warned.

[And they'll do… what?] Gaster asked.

Frisk blinked, and said nothing.

For a few moments more Gaster hesitated, and when he spoke again, it was in an unusually gentle voice. [In this world, the wicked are not always punished,] he said. [I am sorry this is how you had to find out.]


	38. Epilogue

I sat on the bed in Papyrus' old room, the room that I'd quietly claimed as basically my own in recent times, and for the first time in what felt like eternity, I felt free.

There was no murderous bird going around anymore. I didn't have to fear for my life, or for my friends' lives, or for the fate of the world. True, I supposed there was still a chance Par could go back to his old ways, but under Toriel's wing… I doubted that would happen.

For once, I could just rest. Just relax, sit back, and do nothing. And not have to feel bad about it.

I leaned against the wall, closed my eyes, and breathed in the air that suddenly seemed so much fresher. I didn't know what would come next, but… the worst part of my life was behind me, now. And if I'd made it through that, I decided, I wasn't going to be particularly worried about what was yet to come. After all, I was pretty sure that from here on out, everything would be better.

The Barrier was broken. Gaster and Par had been brought back to the light. Slayer… I couldn't help but feel bad about what happened to him. Maybe he'd deserved it, but I still thought there had probably been some other way that I could've seen if I'd just been a bit more in control of my emotions. Thanks to me losing control, someone was dead, and that person was dead forever. It was absolutely my fault.

But… he had been a threat to my life, and to the lives of everyone I cared about. Maybe what I'd done wasn't the best choice – hell, it almost certainly wasn't. But no one was perfect. Everyone made mistakes. Maybe mine had been bigger than most, but there was still no use beating myself up over it. I had done something horrible, yes, and I would need to keep a careful eye out to make sure I never did something like that again – but it would do no good to just tell myself I was awful for it.

And now, of all times… when monsterkind was free at last, when everyone's unreachable dream had been achieved… I didn't have the heart for it, either. For now, I decided, I'd just let myself relax and be happy.

It was a novel idea for me. And being able to just choose to do that was so, so liberating. To know that I was free to just sit down, do nothing, and it wouldn't result in something going horribly wrong… I couldn't really describe how it felt. It was like some horrible burden had been taken off my mind.

So, I did as I'd chosen to. I just leaned back and basked in my newfound safety. More than that – in my freedom.

I couldn't tell exactly how much time passed. A minute or two, if I had to guess. The simple fact that I could afford to just be at peace for that long was still a bit startling to me… but it was what I'd been fighting for. And it was what I'd earned – not just for myself, but for all my friends, too.

But anyway, a minute or two passed. And then I heard a little, cute voice. [Um… Chara…?]

My eyes opened and a smile appeared on my face. [Oh. Hi, Frisk,] I said. [Where've you been?]

[I…] They looked to the side, as if ashamed. [I'd gone to talk to Gaster.]

I raised an eyebrow. [Why?]

[I had a hunch,] they explained. [About what had happened in that last conversation you had with him…]

[And?] I asked, curiosity growing within me. And a little sense of dread, too. Had Gaster done something, now? Was my freedom to be torn away from me once more? I didn't want it to be. I just wanted to rest, for once.

[Well, I went to talk to him about it,] they said. [He… well… he didn't say I was right, as such. But he more or less did.]

I swallowed. [What'd he do?] I asked nervously.

Frisk paused for a moment. [He… tricked you, Chara,] they said. [I don't think he was really certain taking away your resets was the only way. He just wanted to get rid of them. He was just looking for an excuse.]

My heart sank a bit. [Oh.]

And then, a feeling of relief washed over me. At least that was it. At least it wasn't some big plan that I'd have to stop. At least, as far as I was concerned, it was still over.

And while it felt like I should've been angry at him… at that moment, I just couldn't find it in me. Finally having peace was just too nice to ruin it with anger.

Besides, could I really blame him? I myself had come to basically the same conclusion as what I imagined he'd decided – I couldn't be trusted with that power. I reveled in it too much, adored how it set me above everyone else. Even if that wasn't that bad on its own… I knew all too well what I could do if I let myself start getting those sorts of thoughts. If I thought myself superior, if I thought myself more important than anyone else... for me, at least, there was only one way that road led. I'd already proven that much.

So, I couldn't blame Gaster for being wary. I couldn't even blame him for tricking me, not really – I wouldn't have agreed to it if I hadn't thought it was the only way. It had only been after I'd actually lost my resets that I'd started being able to think clearly about how bad I could've been with them. Maybe it was just my way of justifying my decision to myself, but… it felt right. It felt like I'd done the right thing.

And if it'd taken a bit of deceit on someone else's part for me to do it… well, I could hardly approve. But I'd done it myself plenty of times, for good reasons – and when I really thought about it, Gaster's reason was good. On a logical level, I figured he was still in the wrong – that fooling someone into making a choice that massive wasn't something that could be balanced out by good intentions. But really, all I actually felt about it, deep in my mind, was a bit of grudging respect for how well Gaster had outmaneuvered me.

I smiled a small smile. [Heh,] I said. [Clever bastard.]

For a moment, Frisk didn't say anything, their eyes wide in stunned silence. [But… he tricked you into losing your resets!] they said, scandalized.

[Yeah. And I guess he was wrong to do it,] I told them. [But… he had a point. I really doubt I would've used that power for good if I'd been allowed to keep it.]

[W-welll…] Frisk stammered, [are you really going to let him get away with that?!]

[I guess so,] I said. [It's too good a day for anger.]

They paused for a moment. [You know… your fight with Par happened today, too? And maybe even the one with Gaster – it's hard to keep track of time here. I'm… not sure I'd call that good.]

[Figure of speech,] I said with a wave of my hand. [Don't be pedantic.]

They raised an eyebrow, and I sighed. [Never mind,] I said.

[Okay,] they said. [But… really?! You're just… you're just going to let him go?]

[Mmm,] I muttered. [It's unsatisfying, I know. But… not all endings can be perfect.]

Frisk turned away. [But…]

I sighed. [I'm sorry, Frisk. I really am,] I said. [But… I'm willing to let this one go.]

They said nothing, so I continued. [I know he did something wrong. I know you're not happy about it. I can't say I'm exactly happy about it either. But… it worked out for the best. And I'm not about to pursue vengeance now, of all times.]

Still Frisk didn't say anything, just frowned.

I smiled. [Besides, the past is the past,] I said. [Otherwise… well…] I waved a hand.

[Oh,] they said. [Yeah.]

[For now,] I said, [let's just… forgive and forget.] And in exchange, all I'd ask was that the monsters do the same in return. I was sure they'd agree.

Even the snow on the ground of Snowdin seemed clearer, somehow. Calmer, more peaceful.

I'd tried walking through the street for a bit, but that had gone horribly. Not only was EVERYONE rushing to get out of here, but I was basically the hero of the Underground, now. And besides, it seemed the truth about my identity had spread, one way or another. Now, everyone knew who I was, and no one wanted to let me go by without stopping by and having a little chat. And shaking my hand, and showering me with compliments, and telling me I was their hero, and – in one particularly memorable instance – bowing down to me and humbly asking for an autograph. (I'd politely refused.)

I was honored, I really was, and I couldn't help but be proud of myself too. But for all that, it was also incredibly annoying to be constantly showered with attention when I was just trying to get around the place. Soon I'd quietly slipped out from the main road and found myself a nice, quiet place on the outskirts of the town. Thankfully, since everyone was rushing towards the castle, the edges of Snowdin were a ghost town. There wasn't a soul to be seen.

Well. Except for the person I was waiting for. He wasn't here either, not yet – but I knew he'd prefer to stick to the less-densely populated areas. This place would be a natural choice for him.

I leaned against a building, the cold now feeling refreshing rather than biting, the wind a light breeze rather than an angry gale. Soon enough I could see two figures approaching from the distance. I couldn't see them too well from where I was looking, but one was tall and white and cloaked in purple, and the other was shorter – though still not short – and wearing a brown robe that concealed its features.

With a smile on my face, though I knew neither of them could see it, I waved to them. The purple-cloaked one – Toriel, I knew – took notice, and started rushing towards me. The second figure walked towards me too, though much more reluctantly.

"Hey," I said when they were close enough.

"Greetings, my child," Toriel said.

The other figure – Par – sighed. "Hi."

"Hello, Par," I said, and turned my gaze to Toriel. "Mind just leaving us alone for a bit?"

She blinked at me, but bowed her head slightly and said, "Of course not." She walked off somewhere into the forest, leaving just me and Par to talk.

"So," I asked, "did you take the soul to Asriel?"

He looked down. "…Yes."

"Thank you," I smiled. Frankly, I'd expected him to do it. After what happened the last time he'd gone up against me, I doubted he'd want to cross me again. And besides, it would be awkward as hell for him to reject his evil ways on my advice, and then immediately turn around and have an argument with me.

Was asking him to do that when I knew all that nice of me? No. But when it came to saving my brother, I found it hard to care.

"You know, at first, I wasn't going to do it," he said. "I really wasn't. I was just planning to keep the soul and tell you I'd given it to that Asriel guy. But…

"Out of curiosity, I looked for him. I figured it wouldn't hurt to at least meet him, find out why you'd want him to have a soul. I thought maybe I'd find something I could use against you. And instead…" He paused for a moment. "Dammit."

I frowned in understanding. "He told you, didn't he?"

"Yeah," he said. "I asked him about you, about what connection you two had. I could hardly believe it when he told me what it was. I'd just… assumed you had some selfish reason. I didn't even think it'd just be because you really wanted to help someone out."

He looked down. "And when I asked him about what had happened, if there was anything special I needed to know about him…" He swallowed. "I just… I'd decided not to actually give him the soul, by that point. But when I heard that story… and…" His expression turned furtive, as if he was ashamed of what he was about to say. "And when I thought of what that woman would think, how she would feel if I reunited her with her son…"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said.

"I just… the images it conjured in my mind… I just couldn't shake that feeling. About how… how good it would be." He sighed. "Why did you have to have a point?" he muttered.

With a smile on my face, I laid a hand on his shoulder. "Again, thank you, Par," I said. "You… you don't know how much you've done for me." For the first time since I'd started this conversation, I really thought about Asriel. I let myself imagine how it'd be like to spend time with him again, how it would be like to… just have a brother again. Now, I had all the time in the world – I could apologize to him properly, make up for all the bad things I'd done to him. And then… we could be happy together. Again.

Tears touched my eyes before I even realized it, and Par looked at me, a small smile on his beak.

"You're welcome," he said, awkwardly.

"You're doing great," I assured him. "Just… keep on doing what feels right. Okay?"

He said nothing.

"Well, bye, then," I said, and walked away.

"Hey."

Asriel turned to me, unbridled joy on his face. "Chara!" he shouted, running towards me and wrapping me in an embrace. "You won't believe it!"

"I know already," I chuckled, patting him on the head.

"Oh," he said, seeming suddenly disappointed.

"Wanted to tell me, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yeeah," he said, rolling his eyes.

I laughed and pulled him tighter.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" I asked, releasing him. "Have you told your parents yet?"

He looked down. "I'm… I don't think I'm quite ready for that, yet."

"Okay," I said. "Well, take it at your own pace."

"Thanks, Chara," he said.

I smiled. "So… what comes next?"

"I guess… I guess I just live," he said. "I mean… when I get the courage to tell everyone, I mean."

"Alright," I said. "Well, 'til then, your secret is safe with me. I'll be waiting!"

I turned and walked away, but before I left, there was one more thing I had to say. I turned around and said, my voice a bit solemn, "Oh, by the way… Asriel?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You were an excellent brother," I said. "And… again… I'm sorry that I repaid it with nothing but, well, cruelty."

He chuckled nervously. "What do you mean, _were_?"

I grinned. "You're right. What _do_ I mean, _were_?"

Well…

That was it.

I'd taken care of everything I'd had to take care of in the Underground. I still had to tell Asgore everything, of course, but that could wait. For now… it was time to go. To go to the Surface, along with everyone else.

It was an ending. Hell, it was _the_ ending. Life would go on, of course, and this was just the start of mine – but this was the end of my adventure. And, hopefully, of my adventures. After all of this… I hoped nothing similar would arise again. I didn't want to keep fighting for my life, or to have to save the world itself. I just wanted to be with my family. And be happy.

And this was where I achieved that goal. It was the end of my old life. There were no more battles to be fought. There were no more resets to be performed. There were no more paths to be explored. This chapter in my life was over. It had ended for the fourteenth time now, and for the first time, I was moving on. Thank goodness I'd never made that decision before.

It was… so, so odd to think about it. What was the Surface even like? I knew I'd been there once upon a time – it was where I'd been born, where I'd fled from for some reason I didn't even remember anymore. But that had been, as far as I was concerned, lifetimes ago. I didn't remember a thing about it. My mind kept conjuring up more and more wondrous images, until some part of me thought I should stop before I end up giving myself unrealistically high expectations. But still the gears of my imagination kept turning, coming up with thoughts and ideas and pictures of what it'd be like up there. They were all beautiful.

I stepped into New Home – thankfully, since I'd lingered for a while, I was mostly behind the crowd – and still my mind overflowed with thoughts. This was _it_. That simple fact felt so massive I could barely process it. This was where my life changed. This was where I stopped being Chara the murderer, or Chara the time traveler, or Chara the savior, or any of those things. This was where I became… just Chara. Just a normal child. Oh, no one would forget what I'd done, of course – I'd still be remembered, talked about in the history books (at least, I hoped I would be). But the adventure itself was done, and for now, at least, I could live like a normal person.

Honestly, I barely remembered even how that felt. How it was like to just… live.

But… I was looking forward to it.

It wasn't a perfect ending, of course. People had died. People had suffered. Their experiences didn't disappear just because everything worked out in the end. And Undyne… and Papyrus… they would be lost forever.

Yet it was the best ending I'd get. And it was, frankly, better than I deserved. So much better. But I'd take it.

As I walked through the throne room, I started seeing monsters. But as I walked through that last, small corridor to where the barrier had been, the sea of monsters parted in front of me, leaving a path for me to pass through. Monsters whispered among themselves, calling me their savior. Some yelled out their gratitude. Many stared, wide-eyed, at me, and it reminded me of how the monster kid used be around Undyne.

That was when it truly hit me. To them, I was their hero. I was the one responsible for the barrier breaking. I'd… saved them. I'd saved a people from the confines of their eternal prison. I'd brought hope to a nation long devoid of it. I'd given them a future.

And their gratitude… it felt good. And oddly humbling, at the same time. Here I was, nothing more than a little human child, and an entire kingdom was thanking me.

I stopped in the middle of the road and looked around nervously at the gathered monsters. Some sort of warmth appeared on my cheeks. I blushed.

And when I realized that I was doing that, I chuckled. Blushing was something I'd almost forgotten about, too. I'd just always had more important things to worry about to be embarrassed or anything like that. But now… as much as it was embarrassing, it felt good, too. Like an affirmation that… yeah. I was free now. This sort of thing was, for a while, at least, the worst I had to worry about.

"Uh… golly," I said, awkwardly, because I didn't have a clue what to say. "Thanks, guys."

And I passed through, trying not to blush too much. And… and a smile touched my face as I realized that was the sort of stuff I was concerned about, now. Just… normal stuff. No more murderous bird. No more fearing for my life. Just… being normal.

No matter how much I told myself that, it could always be hammered home some more. And every time it was, I couldn't help but be happy.

I walked out to what had formerly been the barrier. Toriel and Asgore stood there, staring out at the Surface.

"My child," Toriel said, turning towards me with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Tori," I said. "Hey, Gorey." Asgore turned to me, a sudden joy on his face. I wasn't sure if I'd ever called him that before.

"I'm… so thankful you two have been in my life," I said. "But… for now… could you move aside, please? I… want to see the Surface."

"Of course," Toriel nodded, and stepped to the side.

"Alright," Asgore said, and did the same.

I passed between them, and looked out at the sun. And in an instant, all the images I'd come up with in my head were blown out of the water. It was more beautiful than anything I could've ever imagined.

For a few moments, I stood there, basking in its glory.

[What are you waiting for?] Frisk asked excitedly. [Let's go, Chara.]

[Yeah,] I said. [Let's go.]

And I grinned, and felt tears pricking at my eyes, and took my first, proud step into a new world.


End file.
